But before you bite into a chocolate bar or take a sip of hot cocoa, consider, where did it come from?

It may be that the treat is the product of someone else's hard labor. The person who may have sold it or who may have made it may not even be an adult.

The International Labour Organization estimates between 56 and 72 million African children work in agriculture, many in their own family farms. The seven largest cocoa-producing countries are Indonesia, Nigeria, Cameroon, Brazil, Ecuador, the Ivory Coast and Ghana. Those last two together account for nearly 60 percent of global cocoa production.

And right now, you can still find children working in the cocoa fields as Romano and his crew did to film "The Dark Side of Chocolate."

So, what should you as a consumer do?

"I'd like you to buy either a fair trade chocolate or a direct trade chocolate," Romano says. "I'd like you to buy something where you, as a consumer, can vote responsibly for better treatment of these farmers. And also with fair trade, you know that they're going to be at least on the road to being paid a decent wage. And with the inspections that go on, you know that their children aren't working and are getting an education."

soundoff(563 Responses)

GOPisGreedOverPeople

GOP health care plan: Turn the Old, Poor, and Sick into slaves. Whip them until they are young, rich, and healthy. Or until they die. Then turn them into Soylent Green to feed to the next batch of slaves. A self sustaining health care plan. If Palin reads this she'll steal my idea as her own.

Wow – I love going to these boards. About 1/4 to 3/4 of all posts are about taking the material covered in the article and (typically bizarrely) linking it to the poster's personal agenda. This one wins the award today. WELL DONE!

April 7, 2011 at 10:46 am |

JCreliever

Wow: that would be half then. And, you are right.

April 7, 2011 at 12:43 pm |

Ms Cookie 2 You

"Most work on the family farm." Does that mean when my kids cut the lawn, pull weeds, etc., (and not paid by the way)they are considered slaves? It's chocolate. It's made by angels and brought to us by good fairies. For petes sake, to keep my chocolate supply, I would rent out my elderly mother as a slave! Pass me the chocolate bunny, eggs and kisses please!

April 10, 2011 at 12:49 pm |

Mendoza, Robert

Obviously, if you have to ask why... you are so totally disconnected with humanity.

We've skirted our Child Labor Laws buy having made outside the USA. Why do people turn child slave labor into American politics? The sugar industry had the same allegations and Americans boycotted, complained, etc to try to stop it. Back to article, how do you find and buy chocolate that is produced fairly? If the majority of you spent time emailing Hersheys and other manufacturers it would do some good. Obama, Palin and the rest have NOTHING to do with this. We do as consumers.

April 10, 2011 at 2:40 pm |

Wzrd1

Good heavens! The US has child slave labor, where CHILDREN help work on their family farms! It's gone on ALL through our history!
We should stop eating! BAN FARMS!
Think of the children!
DO NOT BUY THEIR PRODUCTS! That way they can starve with dignity.
Dolts and dunderheads!

April 10, 2011 at 9:21 pm |

big daddy and twinkie

Roger Rabbitt: How RUDE. someones all for slavery you should be proud of your self...NOT. SUCKER FISH!!!! Ohhhh Yahhhhh!!!!!!!

Your is a possessive pronoun. You're is a contraction of you are. In other words, you're the jerk around here.

April 7, 2011 at 11:48 pm |

chika

your so stupid that you dont know how to complete your sentence or wat pls wat is the correct of maroon

April 10, 2011 at 10:05 am |

Really?

Are you serious Chika?

April 10, 2011 at 4:38 pm |

Dawn

why are we jerks?

April 10, 2011 at 7:53 pm |

Che-3

Sarah Palin type of intelligence and writing skills.
What a Shame to ALL illiterate uneducated GOP's and Racist Tea Baggers!

April 11, 2011 at 9:54 am |

Stephanie

Wow, what a maroon! You are so totally off the mark of this article.
I love chocolate, I would prefer that people get paid what they are worth and that children not be forced to work long,hard hours to help their families survive. Reality bites.
I will be more concious of fair trade chocolate!

If we were to stop eating and buying products that are produced in foreign countries using slave/child labor we would be left in the dark ages. So many countries use this labor and it should be our problem. How about people stop procreating in these countries and then there will be no child labor. So, no more chocolate in the world, no more coffee and tea, no more clothing.

Fair trade companies? I think if you ask the child doing the labor and feeding housing themselves with the pay, as small as it is, would disagree and beg us to keep buying. We, as Americans do not even take care of our own citizens but yet we are to reach out and help others? All the money donated to Japan could have helped when the debris washed up on US soil or when the nuclear fallout destroys all the fish and food for the US. But, no the bleeding hearts only think with emotions and not commonsense for the long haul. Child labor? I say give me my friggin chocolate

April 7, 2011 at 12:03 pm |

Marylyn

The correct spelling of moron is this and not maroon which is a color.

April 7, 2011 at 12:56 pm |

Tyrone Hogglegg

Marylyn

The correct spelling of moron is this and not maroon which is a color.
April 7, 2011 at 12:56 pm |

Actually, now you are the maroon...as she was just being funny....as a matter of fact you are an anal Bihatch too.

Here's a better idea (joking). Why doesn't Obama and his Dumblecrats get out their Dollar Printing Machine, print another load of dollars to run yet another 40% Federal Deficit, to instead give WELFARE PAYMENTS so those kids in AFRICA WORKING won't have to work, instead can be shiftless drug consuming or selling like many of our Inner City Youth. Is that better? And so they can turn into phat adults in their 20s and 30s not used to work, like so many of our Welfare-Mommas in Newark and NYC and Chicago. I've got news for you, no matter how little those kids make, if they and their parents want them working, and they are doing hard work and getting some pay, its none of the West's business.

I feel sorry for white women each time Sarah Palin opens her grizzly dirty month. She sounds exactly like some dumb white women I know that works at Dupont, WV. They even chew raw Tobacco on the job and spit into trash cans in the office and at meetings into coffee caps. Yack!

April 11, 2011 at 10:01 am |

zxasxz46

Better yet take the Kim Jong il approach and make everyone poor with only the elite like SoundOff on the upper echelon to receive the goods and services from the labor of society. Love that wouldn't you Soundoff?

Oh and Obama with his free trade...3wars...Gitmo...Bank Bailouts...allowing Mexican truck drivers to operate at cut rates...government mandate for you to buy private insurance is for the people!!!!!!! bahahah Sucker! Sorry you are corrupt in your thinking. Socialism doesn't work. Everyone can't be part of a parasitic government subsidized system. Like all parasitic relationships, eventually the host dies and so does the parasite.

Bush= 1 war based on lies and bank bailouts as well.. you can't blame one without blaming the other...

April 7, 2011 at 12:33 pm |

CAW

Obama 3 wars? Two of those were started by BUSH. Oh wait he DECLARED one of those over didn't he? Obama is actually trying to get them finished so we can stop feeding the defense contractors who fund the GOP's coffers.

April 8, 2011 at 7:11 am |

skarrlette

Do you know what countries have the highest standard/quality of life in the world? Let me tell you because Americans are blinded by there own rhetoric and the media. Norway, Sweden, Canada, Belgium, Autstranlia, Switzerland, Netherlands, France etc. United States is so far down the list its ridiculous and Americans are brainwashed by there own arrogance. There are way better countries out there than here.

ALL OF THEM HAVE A FORM OF UNIVERSAL HEALTH CARE!!!

In Sweden women are allowed to take 1 YEAR maturnity leave and her husband can take 1 year so that their child gets adequate time to grow with a parent, Both of there jobs by law will be waiting for them, and they GET PAID for this time period.

In France there is a government run nanny/maid serive to help single mothers that is FREE, so that women can still work and raise her children WITH HELP UNLIKE IN THIS COUNTRY because some countries actually care about the well being of their citizens.

And that is just the tip of the iceberg I could go on and on about the quality of life and the government run resources in these other countries that puts this one to shame. No one gives a S about anything in this country except MONEY MONEY Is god here period.

And yet even with all these great social programs somehow all these countries sitll have rich people I guess Capitalisma and social programs can co-exist!!! Who would have known.

They sent all of our jobs over seas you think they give a crap about you!!!! They don't even care if you get sick and die in the street they don't want to help you. Lets check and see if any of those F republicans that sent all your jobs over seas give a crap about you if you lose your job. OR if you are sick!

Its digusting!!!

People need to wake up this country is not as F great as all the brainwashed Americans think it is. There are other countries that treat there citizens better with a better quality life.

April 10, 2011 at 1:20 pm |

skarrlette

Do you know what countries have the highest standard/quality of life in the world? Let me tell you because Americans are blinded by there own rhetoric and the media. Norway, Sweden, Canada, Belgium, Autstranlia, Switzerland, Netherlands, France etc. United States is so far down the list its ridiculous and Americans are brainwashed by there own arrogance. There are way better countries out there than here.

ALL OF THEM HAVE A FORM OF UNIVERSAL HEALTH CARE!!!

In Sweden women are allowed to take 1 YEAR maturnity leave and her husband can take 1 year so that their child gets adequate time to grow with a parent, Both of there jobs by law will be waiting for them, and they GET PAID for this time period.

In France there is a government run nanny/maid serive to help single mothers that is FREE, so that women can still work and raise her children WITH HELP UNLIKE IN THIS COUNTRY because some countries actually care about the well being of their citizens.

And that is just the tip of the iceberg I could go on and on about the quality of life and the government run resources in these other countries that puts this one to shame. No one gives a S about anything in this country except MONEY MONEY Is god here period.

And yet even with all these great social programs somehow all these countries sitll have rich people I guess Capitalisma and social programs can co-exist!!! Who would have known.

They sent all of our jobs over seas you think they give a crap about you!!!! They don't even care if you get sick and die in the street they don't want to help you. Lets check and see if any of those F republicans that sent all your jobs over seas give a crap about you if you lose your job. OR if you are sick!

People need to wake up this country is not as F great as all the brainwashed Americans think it is. There are other countries that treat there citizens better with a better quality life.

April 10, 2011 at 1:21 pm |

Jake

@ CAW Have you ever noticed what short memories republicans have?

April 10, 2011 at 2:11 pm |

Otto

How is Obama and his three war having anything to do with this story? Bush had the world at his behind after 911 and he made a blunder in Afghanistan. Instead of finding and killing Osama and his buddies, he BUSH said Osama was not important. After wasting the lives of many of our children, Bush pulled the troops out and sent them on a wild goose chase on another blunder in Iraq. Lies...lies and more lies. Now, after spending trillions on two blunders and continue to spend billions every month; we are no where closer to the end game.
I totally disagree with president Obama for not pulling ever GI out of Afghanistan, every American should have beed out of both Iraq and Afghanistan already and that my friend will save trillions.

April 10, 2011 at 2:25 pm |

trainwrexxx

outside of the healthcare reform in your post the other issues started with bush or earlier, with the economic fallout being engineered as far back as ronald reagan (who also destroyed job security and health care causing us to need the reforms).
FAIL.

April 10, 2011 at 4:29 pm |

Kinglet

Instead of comparing political systems to parasitic/host relationships, perhaps we could construct political systems that form symbiotic relationships with populaces. Remember, we as people are completely dead without the masses of beneficial microbes inside and outside our bodies. They keep away disease, digest our food, and do numerous things I have no concept of. It is when we, as people, get out of balance in our behavior that the healthy balance can shift to disease. LIkewise, when our governors work together with us as people, we can strike a healthy balance, whether that is in a socialistic or capitalistic system. However, whenever selfishness runs rampant, thinking about the self instead of working towards the balance that supports all (which is inherently a risk in capitalistic societies), there will not be balance, there will be disease (injustice, poor health, environmental destruction, poverty, etc.). I think first and foremost, we must change our culture. We must teach our children (and they are way ahead of us on this one) that to sustain a healthy country, we must work together (not as individuals) and live simply in ways that sustain our resources and other life forms. There is no question that people in Sweden, Norway, Denmark, France, etc. are better at this than we are. It's not a mystery why. We are a new country. They have been evolving for many more hundreds of years. We are just babies. Deep within our American consciousness is this belief that rugged individualism will win the day. It won't.

April 10, 2011 at 6:26 pm |

MattysMom

And as is proven in the above post, the psychotic liberal left socialists are completely disconnected from reality and haven't even looked at the FACTS. Have you heard of this word? "Fact" it means something that is proven to be true. I know that this is very difficult for you to understand, but FACTS are used to support STATEMENTS made by paranoid psychopaths who work to destroy the american way of life through unending entitlement programs and ludicrous spending initiatives. "GOPISGREEDOVERPEOPLE" you need to get in to see a psychiatrist who can treat you for your complete disconnect from reality. "Common Sense" is not found in the Left. Neither is "Fact" or "Truth".

There's quite a bit of non-facutual information in your post! How ironic, right?

April 7, 2011 at 12:33 pm |

kindamental

It's amazing how faux news can take a perfectly sound mind and mold it into a hate spewing ball of goo.

April 10, 2011 at 1:11 pm |

kindamental

Poor Matty. You have to feel almost as sorry for her as these kids in Africa.

April 10, 2011 at 1:16 pm |

skarrlette

I've done the reseach !!! Go look it up my friend and see for yourself. The truth is in the statistics and its provable!!

April 10, 2011 at 1:23 pm |

Chris

by trying to make the argument that liberal ideals and philosophies are not based on fact, are you also implying that conservative ideals are based on fact? If so, please provide just one conservative value that is based on fact. I've been searching for a while now and every single thread of the conservative platform fails to hold up to either a logical or factual standard. Please sir provide just one.

April 10, 2011 at 2:14 pm |

Jim

What about an 8-year old child who stars a Hollywood box office and feeds his family?

Funny how politicians basically force us to have to buy from these countries, while making it difficult for our own companies to compete against them. Doesn't this make us partially responsible? Career politicians are destroy the world.

Actually its lawyers, but to think of it I dont see the difference. Lawyers = Career Politicians. How do we stop the cycle.

April 8, 2011 at 1:25 pm |

Adam Rich

Did you miss the part in the article where it said, "The seven largest cocoa-producing countries are Indonesia, Nigeria, Cameron, Brazil, Ecuador, the Ivory Coast and Ghana. Those last two together account for nearly 60 percent of global cocoa production." There are only so many places that this stuff can be grown. So either you buy it from them or you don't buy it at all. There are no politicians or lawyers "forcing" anything.

April 10, 2011 at 1:10 pm |

jucaja

The only thing your missing fromt the end of that post is, Problem? Trollguy, much?

I'll be satisfied if the GOP just whips morons like you into not posting off-topic.

This was an interesting article – I didn't realized the extent of unethical labor practices in the cocoa growing industry. It would be useful if there were a general stamp/indicator that could be applied to every-day foods we get at the store that would show all the ingredients were obtained through fair/direct trade. As it is, there are too many products to keep track of each supply chain. I'd be happy to pay, say, 50% more to be sure for a better, more ethical, more sustainable economic system.

Whoever is the fool who said he wants to pay 50% more for his food, get real. What about the free food we send over to Africa each year? How about they pay us for that? Why dont they trade us COCOA for the food we send. How about that for fair and ethical? If these people want to continue to bring babies into this world, knowing full well they will be "slaves" then so be it.

April 7, 2011 at 8:21 pm |

DEMO LIARS

Wishful thinking. You Liberals are just looking to point fingers at everyone else but refuse to see that you're destroying the future for our grandchildren with all this overspending and entitlements. WAKE UP.

Independent and I think both GOP and Dems should grow up and lead for their communities that voted for them not their stinkin parties. Go away already "tea baggers" you are a newly formed cancer to the GOP party. We are all Americans and we dont need to be divided by our own Government. Damn I get enough of this from churches.

April 8, 2011 at 1:29 pm |

WorldGoneMad

I dont care about this. These people brought these children into the world and should take care of them. I will never and have never donated a penny to help these hordes of hungry children in these countries. It only encourages them to have more children they can't take care of. Look at India...one of the most high tech societies in the world with many engineers and computer programmers...and 650 million people without access to sewerage. Get real. These people were there thousands of years before the U.S. came about and will be there when the U.S. collapses.

Wow. For years American Children worked in agriculture on their family farms. What is exactly wrong with someone learning a trade in the family business. And what are their options.

The producer of the documentary did it to make money not make a point and most likely exaggerated. Here we are again trying to force our values onto other cultures. What should we be proud of? The fact that most of our youth sit around playing Nintendo, our teen obesity or that our schools can't turn our anyone with an education or a trade skill? Maybe we should focus at home first.

BTW – The GOP is Greed Over People post was obviously written by someone in an institution who has internet access or a plant.

I agrre that children need to be in school and not in the fields all day working but it does not hurt them to help out on the family farm as well. I grew up on a farm and helped my parents work it well before I was 18. I do not consider it child labor as long as it is not abusive and the child is allowed to go to school and have time to play. They should at least be around 10 or 11 before they are allowed to help. That is about how old I was when I started helping on the farm. Back when most farms in America were family owned and smaller it was common for the children to help out when they were not in school. It was a good way to teach responsibility and how to work hard. That is something many of our young people lack today. It can be abused though and I'm sure it is in many parts of the world.

Talk about a misleading article. How many "may" or "could be"'s are in this article?!! The problem with articles like this is that they are intended to scare you into not buying a product by telling you that the product is made in dispicable ways. However, since the author/s can't honestly do that, s/he/they cast these wide nets figuring there has to be something nefarious going on somewhere in the chocolate industry, so YOU shouldn't eat the chocolate you want...just in case. Even though they offer no facts that YOUR favorite choc is being made by bad people...just don't buy it and go ahead and buy fair trade chocolate...because you can be sure it is ok. Wow...nice scare tactics and bait and switch!

Bad way to start the replies, but yes, that appears to be what they want.

Now to get on topic... Yes, most of our businesses are able to sell cheap, affordable products because they DON'T pay a fair wage. They go to foreign countries, buy off a handful of government officials (which is far cheaper than paying hundreds of works fair wages), and child slavery becomes a cheap method of getting the product produced. Remember Nike? They did the same thing. Even in America, we had kids working in coal mines for next to nothing. They could crawl in the small spaces.

People need to realize the true price we pay for our lifestyles. The world can't support our habits in a fair and honest way. But yet, we have to have those designer shoes, those pretty cars, and that tasty chocolate. What should really make you sick is how many people eat so much of that chocolate they get incredibly fat and the local hospital has to purchase over-sized ambulances for their weekly pickups.

And we do need to sound the alarm about this. We made blacks free in America, but in order to get our profits back we enslaved people in other countries. I am neither a Rep. or Dem., but I see the Republicans as the most dangerous threat to our lives right now. They want us all working in factories with no pay and no education so we can't compete with what they inherited from their parents.

wow I think that that is an amazing idea.. While you are at it, take away their benifits and make it an old people holocaust... lmfao. it will take a chunk of the money we are in debt now.. Who exactly are we in debt to i wonder? we are the strongest nation in the world, and we have a debt to pay... hmmmmm

Living in the US I picked apples to earn food. I did this for survival. I was not a slave. I don't like this silly crap you people put up to appear that you are doing this for noble goals. I was five years old.

Indeed slavery does exist in America. There are many ways to hold slaves. We make sure that the low income are "punished" if they will not do their work. Sent to places ... where they and their children will be beaten!

LOL
I just read the conversation that is going back and forward between Dawn, Chika, Phil and Marylyn. And you guys are HELLA FUNNY.
Seriously, this made me laugh my ass off.
AND ON THE EIGHTH DAY GOD CREATED CHOCOLATE 😉 HAHAHHAHAHAHHA
By the way, I'm 12 (of course my sense of humor is idiotic ;))

Again, when talking about child labor, please scrutinize [FORCED] child labor. [Force] is the evil. The unfortunate truth is the fact that children must work in these 3rd world countries. There is a sharp distinction between the two.
The proponents of child labor laws don't understand economics...that is, the study of human action.

Parents love their children -there is and always will be the 1% or lower that are just crazy- but the fact remains most individuals just don't get it. There were no child... labor laws when Joseph was teaching Jesus how to build...why? because they were dumb? The just don't have enough synapses firing off to connect the dots between: No capital goods = High (Necessity) Child labor – VS – Abundant Capital goods = Eradication of child labor...to the point where children just wanting to work in order to attain things they want.

I had this argument with a socialist who just didn't get it...He had the nerve to say, had it not been for child labor laws children would be picking corn and other crops by the masses today!! As if farmer brown wouldn't rather tractors and other CHEEP capital goods, that will produce far more, in one, one-millionth of the time. They don't understand that humans think and act...-can't blame them because they themselves aren't so how can they expect the other 99% of ration human beings to. We all have value scales. This is yet another government failure, of the school system. A lack of critical thinking. Children are extremely costly, do not carry the same output potential per-capita, and thus it takes more to accomplish less, and much more to accomplish the equivalent of older, more experienced laborers. Children are more prone to sickness as well.. So the notion, that a rational economic actor, would still press forth with "torture" – or what ever they like to call it – in the face of less expensive, more durable, exponentially productive capital goods is outright....stupid. Heck, infantile...actually no, children have more sense than this. Fallacy [FAIL]!

I became aware of child labor and trafficing after watching this documentary a few months ago. Because I love chocolate so much I dont look at it the same and always make sure the people with me who are buying chocolate know where the cocoa beans come from brands such as Nestle. I cant do much but spread the word like this and use fb to raise awareness, but will keep it up! Thank you Roberto Roman for making this doco and Thank you CNN for the Freedom project!

I love chocolate also to the point of addiction i.e. I'm never satisfied. This revelation creates an awareness and a feeling that makes chocolate less appetizing. Chocolate for the Ivorian is like oil to the Middle East, it has created profits to a few but also abuses to many.

Pretty sure nobody is saying you should cut back on chocolate. Just change your buying habits. It should not take too much Googling to locate fair trade chocolate.

April 7, 2011 at 11:25 am |

Amos

Sorry to tell you – but Nestle & Hershey's do not pay fair wages for the beans. These companies destroy rainforest, literally burn it and plow it down to plant fields of Cocoa to get their beans. After harvest, they move on to the next section of rainforest.

Nestle & Hershey's add sugar and oils to their chocolate which is why they are so inferior to organic chocolates out there. Try Equal Exchange, Alter Eco, Kallari, Seeds of Change – they make some amazing organic and fair trade chocolates and don't add all the extra sugars and oils and things to them like Hershey's and Nestle Does. And they don't destroy rainforest to harvest crops. Unlike Hershey & Nestle they grow their beans "shade grown" which means they plant around the trees as the best cocoa grows low to the ground, and in the shade of big canapé rainforest trees. This is why organic chocolates are so much better in taste, because of how the beans are grown and the fact the rainforest isn't destroyed and you don't lose the biodiversity in harvesting them.

They pay fair wages for that country NOT u.s. wages or benefits. Nothing wrong with that at all. In all honesty, why is the plight of millions of people in other countries your problem. Who really care? The guilty people that's who. I say keep picking my beans because without that job they will die but then again I am sure another kid is waiting for a job as well

April 7, 2011 at 12:07 pm |

Thank You

I know that there is a lot of inferior chocolate sold in the US. I look forward to trying better quality chocolate, especially while benefiting the local farmer.

April 7, 2011 at 12:18 pm |

Darla Landreth

Seeds of change is owned by M&M mars...I wonder if they are as bad as Hershey & Nestle?

April 7, 2011 at 1:13 pm |

NBSTL68

It's all about the almighty consumer buck. Hershey bar – $1 or less. A nice feel good Kallari bar, yeah $6-$8 forget it.
No one's going to be able to stop the rainforest destruction at those prices.

April 7, 2011 at 3:25 pm |

Amos

NYC Conservative – No, they don't pay fair wages. Pennies are not considered fair wages. The mean wage in the Ivory Coast (the world's largest producer of Cacao) is very very small. You cannot buy the basic necessities of life with that wage, not even in those countries, which makes it not fair.

Seeds of Change is owned by Mars. Dagoba is owned now by Hershey's. They want in the organic market. Not surprising, because hershey's is gross. It's all sugar and oil. That's why they can charge $1 for a bar, because it has so little real chocolate in it.

A Kallari bar is about $4.59 (not $6-$8). I break it up, and have a square each day. One bar a week. Where you say "No thank you" I say yes! please! Have you tried Kallari – it's simply amazing and one of the best tasting chocolates you can get. Even brands like Lake Champlain are much cheaper in prices (as is Dagoba) and their organic sources of chocolate are amazing. They don't add oils and excess sugars like the big name american brands do.

Did you know that cacao plants are the second most heavily pesticide crops, second only to cotton? it's true. Organic Chocolate coming from organic cacao plants can't be sprayed with pesticides (they instead use a combination of water, garlic, and vinegar which works well).

NYC Conservative – what happens in Inda, Africa, South America, and elsewhere effects us greatly. Your ignorance is your stupidity which loses your credibility when talking about this. If you don't think what happens in another country can affect us – look at Libya. More fighting happens in the Ivory Coast over chocolate, than anything else. Americans consume 2.8 billion pounds of chocolate every year. That's almost half the world's production. So if you honestly think that how we pay these people so little below the means to live... that that doesn't affect us (there are plenty of disputes and skirmishes in Africa like in the Ivory coast over the chocolate industry there) then you are clueless. Nestle & hershey's may pay the average wage that those workers in the Ivory Coast and Ghana and Indonesia and elsewhere get for those beans.... but they do not pay a fair wage because in many places unfortunately an average wage is not enough to live. In most of these places, the average wage these farmers get is not a fair wage.

April 7, 2011 at 9:03 pm |

Andy

A "fair" wage is nothing other than what they buyer and seller of labor have agreed to, voluntarily, before work is performed. Nothing else. If the governments of those countries are stepping in and conscripting people, that's one thing, but I don't believe it is the case, usually. Like the other poster noted, the choice for that worker is typically doing that job, which they voluntarily do, or poverty and starvation. It is to the net benefit of those countries that these industries exist.

Could they pay more? Perhaps, but that means the consumer pays more, and more importantly, they are competing on commodity price in a global market. If they pay more than other producers, they must charge more, and the result would NOT be that the end product is priced higher. The result would be that their product loses share, and then people don't even have what they have now.

Short of some type of world government with wage and price controls, this is probably going to continue.

And for that matter, why do we feel so entitled to look down our superior noses at people whose children work on family farms? Why do you people think we have a tradition of summers off from school? We did, and still do, the exact same things. We are simply not an agrarian society, as many of these countries are.

April 10, 2011 at 3:04 pm |

Talgrath

Working on the family farm is hardly child abuse or child labor; it is how farms worked for hundreds of years, children in America still work on the family farm, there is nothing wrong with that. I agree that children shouldn't be forced to work in a trade at gunpoint, but working on a family farm is hardly a terrible thing.

I guess one solution could be to put the onus on the Chocolate making companies like Nestle to make sure that the cocoa they use is sourced from people that don't use child labor. Companies like Nestle should certify their chocolates as Non-Child-Labor chocolates

If I buy my chocolate from the places the director suggests will he do a follow up on the kids to see what happened to them?

April 7, 2011 at 11:59 am |

Kiki

Frank I'm acquainted w/Mr. Romano, he was planning a follow-up on this documentary but it's on hold now due to the violence in Ivory Coast. Hopefully soon things there will be better, and journalists can get back into the country.

Liking i am pretty sure frank means if we take the kids income away what happens to him? best case scenario no 1 buys chocolate from this kids employer anymore what do you think happens? Think He gets paid?

April 7, 2011 at 4:34 pm |

Andy

Exactly. That never seems to register with busybodies, though. All they see is the thing they don't like, or think is "unfair." They never consider the consequences of imposing their will on that situation, and destroying the work arrangements that those other people arrived at before their noble interference – arrangements that those people were, in fact, living on, despite the 3rd party do-gooder's proclamation by fiat that the wages were not enough for that.

April 10, 2011 at 3:14 pm |

jim

the excuses Chocolate mfgrs use is that not all the cocoa they make their chocolate from comes from child labor plantations , so they can't determine which cocoa is ACTUALLY BEING USED, how's that for lame

The onus us on us as consumers, not companies or governments. If you don't care about the conditions where your cocoa beans were grown buy dollar store or even name brand. If you care then vote with your wallet and buy chocolate certified by these new fair trade groups.

How do we verify if the chocolate we purchase is fair trade or direct trade?

April 7, 2011 at 1:20 pm |

Sasha

Michelle; such items are marked "fair trade"; I don't know if you will find them in your run of the mill grocery store, but store's such as Trader Joe's have them.
Also, just in case you want to know, cleaning/bath products are always tested on animals, unless it says "cruelty free" or "not tested on animals/do not contain animal by-products". Those are usually found in run of the mill grocery stores but only if they have a "health food" corner/section. (if they do, that's were you would find the aforementioned chocolate, too)
It really is not overly time consuming to be mindful of what you are buying. It is also not much more expensive, especially if you look for bargains and/or sales, combined with coupons. All it takes is will power.

April 7, 2011 at 2:15 pm |

T Newman

Thank you for this excellent interview and for calling attention to this issue. You can actually order a copy of "The Dark Side of Chocolate" DVD online and download a screening guide here: https://afl.salsalabs.com/o/4058/donate_page/darkside

While it's nice that people are concerned about other people, not all of us can afford the exorbitant prices of "fair trade" items. We can barely get by paying for the cheap regular items.

April 7, 2011 at 12:54 pm |

Nichole

So sad that people like you are so willing to let others sacrifice so you can live your gluttonous life. Having everything you want in life, and cheaply, is worth letting other people live in slavery and poverty. What a fantastic human being you must be.

Nicole, you are very harsh and critical. Life is not fair granted, terrible things go on in the world and children starving and being forced to work for the indulgences we enjoy-not just in America, but everywhere-is not something that will go away completely. As consumers make more educated choices, things change, but bashing people for making the choice you think they should make is not going to win you any converts. Jenine was at least polite and I would listen to her view point and opinions on the subject before your grumpy attitude. I have been trying to be more concious of fair trade in my buying and don't mind paying a bit extra. Consumers rule the market, but change comes slowly.

April 7, 2011 at 11:24 am |

Sildenafil

Do you buy Nike shoes? How about any products made in China? For that matter, anything with even PARTS made in China or many other Southeast Asian countries? Do you have ANY clue how hard that is today? These may not all be made by children, but "slave labor" nonetheless.

These children (and adult "slave labor") are making money to help support their families when they probably would not survive without this support. In the industrial revolution, that time when America stepped on it's path to becoming the greatest, most prosperous nation on earth, children laborers were commonplace. Was it right? Up to you to decide, but I think our lives would be vastly different, and for the worse.

Do you have any diamond jewelry? Trust me blood diamonds are still out there or else the demand for them would be so low that it wouldn't be profitable to continue mining them. Not only are the people that mine them slaves in almost every sense of the word, people are killed over them.

So yes, stop eating your non-fair trade chocolate. I hope it makes you feel warm and fuzzy inside. Like you with the above products, I buy the best chocolate available at the fairest price for my chocolate cooking hobby. I enjoy it, just as much as you enjoy your computer obviously, with many of the parts ... made in China.

April 7, 2011 at 11:41 am |

@ J and N

Please spare us your guilt. You're methods of resolution wouldn't even work. Greed exists regardless of who gets the short end of the stick.

Who are you to unilaterally declare that buying fair trade chocolate would not work??

April 7, 2011 at 11:28 am |

@JKT

I'm a nobody who doesn't agree with that methodology.

April 7, 2011 at 11:40 am |

Sildenafil

I am. Economics says so. The demand for "fair trade" chocolate isn't very great, so the price is still reasonably low. If that were to change, many non-"fair trade" chocolate "farms" would go under, causing a severe shortage in the marketplace of chocolate causing prices to skyrocket.

Will it happen? Probably not, as Europe as a whole consumes far more chocolate than the US (an assumption, but likely the case). As I said before – if it makes you feel all warm and fuzzy inside, do it. Don't castigate those of us that don't choose to follow your lead.

April 7, 2011 at 11:46 am |

Alverant

@Sildenafil well then wouldn't the magic invisible hand create more fair trade farms to keep up with demand and employ all those people?

April 7, 2011 at 12:42 pm |

Amos

@slidenfall – you are wrong. the USA is the number one consumer of chocolate. Per Capita, it's Switzerland... but by dollar amount it's the US over Europe.

Here in the USA people devour entire chocolate bars at a time. In Europe, most eat a tiny square broken off the bar at a time.

April 10, 2011 at 1:11 pm |

Andy

@Amos – Your first claim, that the Swiss consume the most chocolate per capita, and your second, that Americans "eat whole bars at once" while Europeans eat a "tiny square" is contradictory, and flies right in the face of the statistics. Here is a list I found of per-capita consumption:

This just doesn't hold with your characterization of Americans as gluttonous slobs who wolf down a bar at a time, while their reserved European counterparts eat a "tiny square." What rot.

April 10, 2011 at 3:25 pm |

Brad

What's the problem? I thought children like chocolate.

Seriously, I doubt that the world's fat people will balk at a candy bar because others suffer. I fully expect our plus-sized planeteers to lounge about in their recliners and proclaim, "We won't stand for this!"

Chocolate isn't making the country fat. Overindulgence is. Eat too much McDonalds, with their toys for your kids made in China and other SE Asian countries employing de facto slave labor, and you will become obese. Keep ordering that grande mocha cappuchino late with "low fat" whipped cream – you'll become obese. I have no clue what that is or even if it exists because I don't drink coffee but you get my point.

Really. I'm overweight, and I can't stand chocolate in any way, shape, or form. If every dessert option was suddenly chocolate, I would pass. The same goes for anything peanut butter, or banana. I don't actually eat any kind of candy, it's not my thing. And I love vegetables and salad. Still, here I am. Fat.

April 7, 2011 at 9:51 pm |

Thomas

This is just another example (albeit one of the more horrendous) of greedy companies putting profit above the well-being of their employees. While this happens all over the world, I'm ashamed to say the USA is one of the leaders of this practice. Yes the docu talks about Ivorian labor/slavery abuses, but ultimately it is the companies paying these foreign outfits who are responsible. While I understand people wanting to do something (buy free trade type chocolate) in reality, if the the companies sell less slave labor chocolate, they'll simply raise the prices and/or pay even more unscrupulous people to obtain more slave labor produced raw ingredients. Anything for the almighty buck and blessed profit margin. It used to be American workers could earn a decent wage and afford to buy a house. Greed has killed that dream and recently greedy companies have used that want of a home.. the current crashed realestate market and global crisis are the result. But they made their profits ahead of that, and guess who bailed them out when the bubble finally burst?

Having visited and lived in countries other than the US I can tell you that our view of child labor differs from much of the world. Our pampered children would not survive in most of the world. A large majority of our adults could not survive a single day of the labor required to support a family in most of the world. I am sure this astute documentary was meant to make the world aware of child labor but the industry is paying these kids...we need to focu on the children that are not paid and thier parents who are forced to sell themselves or thier children into slavery to survive. I will buy 10 chocolate bars every day as long as those kids can earn a wage for their labor. I donate far more than that to assist in the efforts to stop modern slavery.

Sublime, yeah I don't see it mentioned above... too bad. I have seen the whole documentary tho, and it makes that clear. They even interviewed a trafficker who sells the kids. Many of the children sign on to this THINKING they will be getting paid... but they're not. And really, when you're 8 or 10 years old, your family's in another country, you don't speak the language and your boss carries a machete, who are you to argue? The few who escape, they talked to some of them too, and they said if they don't work hard enough, or get sick or complain, they're beaten... the kids said many try to escape but are caught, they're badly beaten and I can't remember if those kids actually said some are killed, or if they said some disappeared and they figured they were dead, but there ya go. They're not sending money home, it's just free labor for the cocoa farmers. And the docu also makes clear that the big corps know about this. Nestle, Hershey, Mars, all know this goes on.

Indeed, the article states that the majority of the children are working on family farms. True, they may not be "paid" by their parents as an official wage, but that's hardly the same thing as slavery. Keep in mind that the reason schools in the US break for the summer is because it wasn't that long ago that most families needed their kids home to work on the farm. Just because that isn't the norm for us at the current time doesn't give us the right to point fingers and vilify people whose survival depends on the whole family pitching in.

Some of the chocolate companies pay the kids. Many do not. We watched a documentary on this a few months ago. They are very rarely family farms. The children are often kidnapped or sold by their parents. Many are simply slaves.

Most of the comments here are despicable and stupid. There is nothing even remotely funny about making fun of these kids even if you have not seen the documentary. The ignorance of too many Americans and their complete lack of moral fiber is growing exponentially. Oh, yes, there are lots of decent people but they stand back and keep quiet. Enablers!

Are you truly this stupid? Or is it just willful ignorance? When you do not have old age pensions you have children to take care of you when you are old. No one else will. Alas, many children die before they reach adulthood so you need to have enough of them to assure you are not left sick, alone, and starving. In lieu of a tractor, they have children to help in the fields, if they have fields. Many men in these parts of the world will not use condoms because having many babies is a sign of virility. They would likely kill or maim their wives if they secretly tried to do something about it. No woman anywhere would ever willingly have more children than they can take care of. It is rarely up to the woman in undeveloped countries.

Some of you lot may be intelligence but it is impossible to say. You are so ignorant as to appear stupid. In my mind, willful ignorance is one of the stupidest choices available. You do show the world what kind of greedy and inhumane country you live in.

Thks for this as I watched the documentary, A Small Act, and saw children as well working to support their family and pay for school fees. I have started eating chocolate recently and though more expensive, I do buy fair trade and pray that it is fair trade.

You know, we don't just simply stop by not buying chocolate or make chocolate companies admit that they are Non-Child-Labor. If we stop in that way, children have nothing to do and they get no money to pay for their living.
We need to figured out another way to help those children

Pressure CAN be brought to bear! If the big chocolate companies know that they can increase sales by selling no-slave chocolate, they will go to their suppliers and use their buying power to ensure slaves are not used. They can send inspectors, etc. Don't just give up and claim we can do nothing. That's weak and lazy.

this stuff always ticks me off, england, the united states and everyone else when there countries where in these states of development need child labour, otherwise you dont eat. Only once a country has truly developed can social programs exist.

But unless the entire world wants to make africa inot more of a welfare state then it is let them work as it is far better then do this then be sold for prostitution so that there parents dont starve to death.

life is not easy and its not far and you dont make it that those ways by throwing money at it you have to crawl before you can walk.

I was commenting to a friend when we were talking about the bail out figures from the US, billions... How much of that money could have been bail out the poverty in the world? Maybe half or one third could have been earase the poverty label, from how many countries? and could have made posible the freedom and democracy to move forward at the same time? There is a spark that needs to be spread, but money its required, what about to bail out the poverty? what about bail out the poor children of this world? there are so many countries where it could be done...We can not make it happens unless we start thinking the terribles odds of the poor children and women to break up the poverty conditions, and start realizing that could be the best world investment for our future and make this place a safer one. Otherwise rage, anger and hate will be the only winner, meanwhile as a atonish spectators we will continue to look the non stoppable terrible conditions to be spread out. I was so surprised that US it could bail out the economy, so I think money is there, banks are owe now to improve the conditions of others since they have been rescued. US, what a about a bail out for third world countries with tons of children, young people,women and men willing to be better and become part of a land of freedom too?

CNN must do stories of slave-like conditions in Gulf countries like Saudi Arabia and Qatar too.
CNN must visit labour camps, non-energy companies, real estate firms, publishing and advertisement companies as well as trading companies in these countries to find out about violations of human rights.
Just because they are immensely wealthy from their oil and gas industry and also have a huge budget for positive global media campaigns does not mean they should be excluded from this Freedom Project.
Four Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) states, UAE, Kuwait, Oman and Bahrain have made positive changes to the modern-day slavery system called the Sponsorship System. It is only the above mentioned countries which still continues this rigid practice of keeping foreign workers and employees at the mercy of their sponsors who are nationals of these countries.
The Sponsorship System needs to be recognised as a Modern Day Slavery System. Under this system, workers and foreign employees cannot disagree with their employers on anything and can be terminated immediately and deported back to their countries without any explanation. Workers and employees cannot change jobs without a No-Objection Certificate certificate from their previous sponsor. Hence what we get to see in these countries are workers living in pitiable conditions. Example: 25 workers living in a 6ftX6ft room. In addition, workers long hours without extra overtime compensation and are sometimes served low quality food just once a day.
Qualified employees in companies face harassment due to non-recruitment of sufficient staff and hence end up doing at least three individuals' work, as companies are always cutting costs to maximise profits.
There is no sick leave, it only exists on paper. Workers can only fall sick only on their weekly off day!!! Any absence is hit with salary cuts!!!
Lots of Human Rights offices are in existence but cases are only piling up due to procedural delays.
Basics like drinking water are also not available in some firms with the explanation given that salaries are meant to buy water!!!
If a No-Objecion Certificate is asked to take up employment in another company or if a salary raise is asked, it is usually not given and the worker is deported without explanation.
CNN must continue this campaign with greater vigour to end Modern-Day Slavery worldwide.

the government why they didn't action for child labors?they are doing the work for their living purpose. if we are stop to buying chocolates,what about the labors?
In all over the world child labors not at all erasing,if everyone take beware of that our child's,no child labors will create,is it right?

This is outrageous. You mean, some of the cocoa beans used in my chocolate were the same ones that kid's bhut was sitting in? Ewww! Yes, I think legal action should be taken immediately, something needs to be done.

I am a chocolatier by trade, we keep away from companies that use child labor since we open our doors. We tell all our clients that we charge more because we are carefull what are our ingredients... It is very sad that exist traffiking and child labor in the 20th century and people keep their mouth shut and are accomplices to the fact. It should be public which companies are benefiting of this horrible abhorration of traffiking and should be certified on the Label of each choclate and any product that is not chocolate as well.

Frakory: If your company can avoid forced-labor cocoa, why can't others do it? How can you be sure your cocoa is not tainted by forced-labor? The documentary shows that even forced-labor cocoa can be sold as fair-trade cocoa. There are so many suppliers it's impossible to tell.

So, what is the solution here? Consumers stop buying chocolate? I do not think that will help at all. Lowering demand will lower the wages paid – equaling more poverty.

Think about the path a cocoa "bean" takes from farm to vending machine. It is harvested, shipped, processed, combined with other ingredients, packaged, shipped again, loaded into a machine, and sold. All of those steps and the cost is still less than 1 USD.

Do we raise wages by raising prices? Great, a 3 USD chocolate bar. Then cut the demand in a third because of the increased price and we are back where we started.

You don't know much about economics. The point is to increase demand for fair trade chocolate and lower demand for the rest of the industry based on slave labor. Eventually the later will get the hint that enslaving people or paying low wages will result in less profits. When their practices change they will have no choice to shift most of the profits from the owners to the workers (thus, higher pay for workers), so in essence, the price will not increase much – if at all. Fair trade chocolate really is not incredibly more inxpensive.

My fave fair-trade chocolate is Theo... Great stuff. Divine's also good. I think the best thing tho, is PLEASE email whatever your fave brand is- hershey or lindt or whoever. Let them know you're actively looking for FT chocolate. If they know there's a market for it, they'll want to cater to it. Ask them to send you their written policy on child slavery. And if the policy isn't strong enough for you, tell them that. They really do listen, it worked in australia bc tons of Aussies wrote Nestle so now KitKat bars sold in Australia are FT.

Newman's Organics isn't technically fair trade, but their cocoa is mostly sourced from Latin American farms and they have made efforts to make their farmers certify that they don't practice forced-labor.

There is a difference between being forced to work and needing to work, I think. Children all over America work on family ranches or farms, and it does sometimes interfere with school. Yet we do not attach a negative connotation to to such labor, even though the children may not have a choice. Family farms require sacrifice to continue in existence. In Montana, many districts allow a certain number of days away from school for hunting or harvesting, with the realization that education must take a back seat to survival. Most of the children in Africa work on family farms. Here's a little tip: education doesn't mean a damned thing to a starving populous, and if the only thing keeping you from starving is your entire family working on your coco plantation, then that's what you do. It would make a difference if there was a notable hazard to the children in terms of health or safety. I have some trouble believing that picking or sorting coco beans is as fraught with peril as working in fabric mills, in mines, or deployed as chimney sweeps; all of which led to western child labor laws. I take serious issue with those aid organizations and meddling individuals who try to attach a western value system to an entirely different place and people. So you may well believe that I will eat my chocolate with peace of mind; I will think of the hard working boy or girl that is struggling to keep their family plantation afloat. Though I will never meet them, I give them the same mental nod of respect that I give everyone who makes their living from the land, living in adversity so that the future is just a little brighter than the past.

JC, I was thinking along the same lines: there are kids all over the US who are working to help support their families, whether on family farms or with their paper route, babysitting job, lawn mowing business, or other small jobs that, if you paid an adult professional, would cost a whole lot more (think of day care or landscaping). Yet, we don't call this "child labor" or "child slavery." Right now, I'm sure there are a lot of children who have taken up whatever little job they can find to help support their families and we think of them as responsible kids who will grow into responsible adults. If the children working to pick and sort coco beans are getting paid a wage to do their job and support their families, then why are we seeking ways to take away that wage and support? We'd be irate if someone were seeking to do the same to us. We should respect those children as we would respect any child in America who takes up a job to help support their family.

Hey Brad, big surprise, but skinny people eat chocolate too. The POINT to this documentary was not to pursuade people to stop eating chocolate but to buy chocolate which is Free Trade, in the same way that careful and caring consumers buy coffees and teas which are Free Trade, since the same set of labor abuse problems exist with those items.
For all you who claim you could care less and you are still going to buy your chocolate candy, all that's being asked of you is that you take a tiny bit of time to SEE whether you can access Free Trade chocolate in your stores. If not you could always ask the manager of your store to look into it. Would it kill ya?

I have to say one thing about child labor here in USA child's are also working in there farm and those kids grow-up to be hard working and successful kids need to learn a work ethic when they growing up . We have spoil our kids they grow up to be on well fare or on drugs always looking for a reason not work .

Is it the purpose of chocolate or are there other forms of distributing goods (chemical substance) from the furtile land being use to economize a region's few? And, is this story a cover to satisfy curiosity from the filmaker's actual investigation?

I am a Nigerian from the South West which is the cocoa producing area. I do not see children working in cocoa farms as child labour! Farming is our parents occupation and we had no other recreation than to join them in the farms after schools or during holidays. This is akin to staying with your parents in their grocery stores in the UK/America.It is on record that we (EKITI STATE) have the highest no of Professors in Nigeria despite this very humble background. However, please note that we were not working in our parents farms to make money; just to help though very compulsory.
If children are now working for a pay today it is a failure of governance. No affordable schools and social trust funds to cater for these children, God will deliver Africa.

There are two sides to child labor in poor countries. In 1999, my tour guide took me to a rug factory in Cairo, Egypt. Kneeling on the floor, working the threads with hands turned into rainbows of color from the dyes leaching off, were three small 12 year old girls. I was absolutely amazed that the owner showed off these girls and let me interview them on videotape through an interpreter. They worked 12hrs/day, 6 days/week and had been working since age 10. The owner told me they got 3 months/year off during which he paid to send them to school. I bet, in their community, the parents other girls are jealous of the situation these girls are in. They might not get much education, but their reading and math, perhaps accounting, skills they learn will give them a distinct advantage over the masses of poor in Cairo. And I bet their families need the small incomes they earn. If you were a parent in such a situation, what would be better for your kid?

My god are we going to internalize everything. Hmm lets contemplate the hardship of the tomato you are eating. The struggle that Enrique the migrate worker is having and the battle with alcohol abuse and the drugs. Or the history of the turnip, and how it was used hatefully along with a cart and gravity to describe people that are mentally challenged. Or every time I fill up my tank I am helping some Saudi sheik live like a king while secretly subsidizing terrorism. I mean really you can break down every freaking thing you do or consume or whatever into some Greek tragedy. Just eat the freaking thing and be done with it. Oh lets not even get into the calories and the health aspects of over consuming it.

The only way a person under the age of 14 is allowed to work in the US is....on a family farm. This is law in this country so why is the cocoa producing countries being held to a different standard. As this article points out to think of where the cocoa comes from do the same for everything else you eat.

Please don't jump to conclusion. These children work hard, very hard but it does provide food for their family who other wise would go without. Also if they did not work in a chocolate farms their sister, mother, or some other female in their family would be use as sex slavery. And if you don't buy chocolate they do not eat.

As I eat my Hersey extra dark chocolate, am am leaning back in my chair laughing in a diabolical tone as I enjoy the fruits of my labor at the expense of others. This "conflict chocolate" taste even sweeter! Bahahhhahhahahha

I can see DiCaprio doing a "Blood Diamond" sequel called..."Blood Chocolate" Where he rescues some chocolate worker...say an Umpa Loompa from the vicious working conditions at the Wonka factory. I can see it now, fire fights and utter non stop action as he smuggles the everlasting gob stopper out of the Ivy Coast, staying one step ahead of the blood thirsty Willie Wonka.

Does it bother anyone else that the report opted not to mention which companies to not buy or to buy from? How do we know Ghiardelli or Russell Stover an dother local U.S. companies aren't "puchasing from these places". Sure, I can research it myself but that's just bad reporting not to mention something about whether this chocolate applies to anyone buying in this country!

People in the US crack me up. If the children overseas don't work, they do not eat or drink, then they die.
If you want to help them, buy chocolate and start working with programs to help them out of the situation. Unlike the US many kids in Africa REALLY have little chance of a future and this is the best they can get.

So, can anyone out there give me a list of fair trade and direct trade companies?

If people would just read other's questions instead of being in a rush to blirt out smart a......s remarks, the world would get along better. How about you Sarah Palin, could you answer this question for me? Thanks in advance.

Now, wait a minute - "child labor" isn't necessarily "child slavery". At least it wasn't when I was growing up on a farm. I worked on the farm every day. I didn't always enjoy it, but I understood that my labor was helping to pay for the roof over my head, the food on my table, the clothes on my back, the car insurance when I got my driver's license, etc. I think it's a shame that so many parents in the U.S. seem to be afraid to ask their kids to even mow the grass. Either way, I'm not sure that parents putting their own kids to work on the farm is exactly scandalous.

Tom, first off this is considered under international law one of the "worst forms of child labor" because it's so brutal and dangerous. But anyway, most of tIhose kids aren't there voluntary and can't walk away, and aren't paid. In the live version of this story yesterday the film maker said he and his partner were offered children for sale and the typical price is $150-$200. FOR A CHILD SLAVE. It's not an after-school job, it's a live of slavery that starts in childhood. Huge difference.

Really? Where does it say that anywhere in the article? Don't berate a commenter for making a completely reasonable comment based on the information given. Your real gripe should be with the author of the article who left out any information about work hours, wages, working conditions, or anything that might be useful to garner some outrage. Poor writing leads to a poor understanding of a topic. It's not the readers' fault.

So, can anyone out there give me a list of fair trade and direct trade companies?

If people would just read other's questions instead of being in a rush to blirt out smart a......s remarks, the world would get along better. How about you Sarah Palin, could you answer this question for me? Thanks in advance.

SLAVERY and WAR never left us. They have always been with us but in different forms – in changed clothes. If you think of it you find that it will probably NEVER ever go away as along as the power, money and so-called 'economy' are in the hands of mostly privileged groups of selfish people who believe that their luxurious lifestyle and own security are their birth-rights and these have to be maintained at the cost of no-matter-what happens to the rest of the world and sustained plights and poverty of millions of people.

is child labour synonymous with slavery? if they are paid, however low, its still money.. they could have nothing at all if they don't get to work. if we all go buy " fair trade", then what will happen to the children? will they suddenly live a better live and go to school?

Really? Where does it say that anywhere in the article? Don't berate a commenter for making a completely reasonable comment based on the information given. Your real gripe should be with the author of the article who left out any information about work hours, wages, working conditions, or anything that might be useful to garner some outrage. Poor writing leads to a poor understanding of a topic. It's not the readers' fault.

April 10, 2011 at 9:54 pm |

Johnnie

Exploitation and greed is the underlying truth unspoken that enables the unfair trading treatment of these developing cocoa producing countries.

anyone could find the names of companies that are tainted with child slavery. hersheys, nestles, ghirardelli and many more are guilty. m&m mars has a contract to end child slavery, but not until 2020. Callebaut is supposedly now slave free. Dagoba is organic and fair trade, but has been bought by hersheys. do a search or look in facebook where there are campaigns to boycott chcolate companies that use slave labor. a lot of chocolate is sweetened with gmo, monsanto corn syrup which imparts a horrible taste and it is produced on the backs of beaten child slaves. mmm, please do a search for those that use sugar and employees that are paid a liveable wage.

I grew up on a farm and worked quite a bit. I liked working for the neighbors, in fact it was probably some of the last work I did where my employer respected me. It was hard work. I made money. I spent the money. The question in this story that is not answered is whether the children are forced to work, and someone else takes the wages, or if they are free to choose how much they work. Americans always think children working is bad because most americans hate working. There needs to be a more in depth analysis of whether the children are really being abused. Just saying that they are working is not the same as saying something is wrong here. Maybe if more of you had worked as children, you wouldn't be so weak now.

perhaps instead of expecting people to "search for" the evidence the author of the article should have actually included some details. The way this article is written it sounds just like they are whining that kids are working on their family farms, just like many of us here in the USA grew up doing. IF there is more to the problem than that why is it not mentioned at all in the article? you can't expect anyone to read this article and say "OMG I have to go research the child labor practices of every obscure country out there to see just what real problems there are". If there are actual problem, put them in the article or don't write the article in the first place.

April 10, 2011 at 9:50 pm |

Samantha

Other people are making this seem like if we stop buying chocolate children will be out of jobs. They work in SLAVERY. Some of them are sold by their parents to the companies (for a very, very small amount of money), but most are stolen or otherwise forced into working. And they work 80 hours a week or more, for NO pay. They aren't going to be losing good paying jobs if we boycott Hershey or Nestle. What I hope will happen is that fair trade companies will expand because of consumer demand and more of these children will be freed from slavery and allowed to have jobs, period.

As a farmer in the U.S. and the father of 3 boys; I made sure my children worked on the farm when they were growing up. They are all now grown and are happy, productive, contributing members of this wonderful country. Glad that movie producer wasn't driving around my farm when the young boys were working in the fields.......

I'm sure you are a wonderful father and that you taught your children all the things they needed to be the contributing members of society that they are, and that the value of hard work together with their education was an important part of these values. The situation that is being reported on is a bit different. These are poor uneducated parents either selling their kids, or forcing them to work the fields that put them into dangerous situations, and that don't allow their children to take the time off to get an education. I would think the goal should be to make sure every farmer is as responsible as you appear to be, but in the third-world, that is almost never the case. We are lucky to be in America where you can be the parent you need to be and our children can grow up to be the adults they desire to be.

I appreciate these articles informing me about how businesses may be using child (or adult) slave labor to make the products that I buy. I try to buy products that say "Fair Trade" or "Made in the USA", but sometimes they are hard to find. And those products are usually twice the price. I don't mind paying more for Fair Trade, but I'm not rich either, so it is a problem at times.

When people post articles or blogs or whatever, about businesses using child slave labor, they really do need to list the companies and the names of the products. Don't just say, "But before you bite into a chocolate bar or take a sip of hot cocoa, consider, where did it come from?" Tell me WHAT companies do this. Tell me the NAME of the product that is made by slave labor. DON'T generalize. Be specific! Not all companies and businesses use child/adult slave labor.

If I am going to stop buying products made by these businesses, I need to know which products to stop buying.

I was born in 1951 in rural area in France, i spent my childhood working to my parents, it was more or less the same for my fellow friends, it was plenty of work and one assistant was not enough. Today farmers have 3x surface and no assistant, they growed rich and buy engines. Young are unemployed and have to move to the cities.
In Africa -and all "undevelloped" countries-children have to work or to beg, but if they success they retire very young and have a position of master.
I do not say what's good & what's wrong....

How does it HELP child laborers and sweatshop workers to not buy their products? Do you think their companies will say "okay, we didn't sell very much, let's let little Johnny go with a generous severance package?" Buying their products helps these countries develop, which will let them shed exploitative labor. Besides, little Johnny is probably happy to work when the alternative is much, much worse.

"The International Labour Organization estimates between 56 and 72 million African children work in agriculture, many in their own family farms. "

Ok, so why is that bad? Working on the family farm....sounds vaguely familiar. Maybe because that is how farms in THIS country and every agricultural country in the world have been operating for centuries. Working on the family farm or in the family business is not slavery....maybe the kids don't love it, but it sure as heck isn't SLAVERY.

Simply not buying it isn't going to help the situation. All that does is drive the price lower, so either more people buy it and they make the same, or they pay even less toward keeping these slaves. It won't result in better treatment of farmers at all, it'll just make the people driving them more ruthless. It's certainly not going to reform anyone!

This article isn't mentioning the hours the children are working so its hard for me to get worked up, as I'm sure is the point of the story. If the kids working on their family farms are simply doing their part in the family, I see nothing wrong with that. I think doing a little manual labor would do a lot of kids good: would give them responsibility, a sense of pride in the work they were doing, and keep them out of trouble from being bored and looking for something to do. We need more info before we can get angry and boycott the chocolate industry. I'm certainly not going to automatically assume all of the child labor is excessive, and I'm not going to rob families of what may be their only income.

What we forget is that for most of these children in poor countries, making chocolate, shoes, clothes, electronics, etc., is far better than the alternative...the sex industry. A few years back when people wanted to put Kathy Gifford’s head on a platter for having children work in her factory, a man from that country was interviewed and said that we (mainly us Americans) were actually making it worse and that if we stop buying products in protest and factories close the families are left in dire straights and many would end up actually selling their children and not for the purpose of giving them a better life.

I am all for making sure these children are treated and paid well but let's think before acting and instead insist that the companies that employ children do so in a humane manner.

"... African children work in agriculture, many in their own family farms." Really! You wouldn't have to go farther than rural USA to find children working on their own family's farm. When I was a child I worked in my own family's garden! We were poor, we needed the food. I bet these children's families need the money. Stop buying from them and then what happens to the child?

I am certain there is more to this story, but as it is, this is a poorly written article.

And for that matter, I worked on some of the neighbor's farms as well when I was a child. Used a knife to pick veggies, just like these kids are. I saw a post above that said, "these are not happy kids working on a farm" – trust me, I wasn't a happy kid doing it either, but the money sure was useful.

Look, the oompaloompas will gladly make the chocolate if we just liberate Loompaland. We need to devote our military power at once, even if they're slightly stretched, a draft may be in order. The Vermicious Kinnit are a threat to all free people, including oompaloompas, and need to be stopped, not to mention chocolate is very yummy.

I don't see a problem with kids working on their own family's farm (or even someone else's), as long as they're also getting educated and their basic needs provided for. Kids doing farm chores (milking, feeding, collecting eggs) was common here, too, when family farms were common. What's the difference between a kid having a part-time job at McD's and having a part-time job harvesting cocoa? What to kids here spend their time doing? Playing video games, texting? Don't you think they'd grow up to be more responsible if they actually did something useful during all those wasted hours? Not to mention the benefit to society if they were producing something rather than just being lazy!

You understand that harvesting with your family on family land is not the same thing as being taken from your family to work in hazardous conditions.
Besides, if their work suffers they won’t be able to care for the trees. If you didn’t know, cocoa producing trees are being decimated by disease and there are fewer varieties than there used to be. Every field needs to be cultivated to make sure these trees survive the decimation of a species.

Please tell me, again, why we care so much about supporting OTHER countries, helping OTHER countries, pointing the finger at OTHER countries, protecting OTHER countries when we aren't doing anything for OUR country?

OUR farmers, OUR children, OUR women, OUR elderly, OUR homeless, OUR unemployed. How about we let the OTHER countries tend to THEIR problems, and WE tend to OURS? I think that's a novel idea.

While I definitely agree with you that we are far from living in an utopian U.S., and that the U.S. does have problems such as all the ones you listed – it does not mean we should turn our backs or be apathetic to the problems that face our fellow countries, our fellow human beings.

I find it interesting that you refer to these counties as the "OTHER." You may not have known this, but the term "OTHER" is actually a term of exclusion, subordination, and dehumanization in continental philosophy. It may not have been what you meant, but the tone of your comment certainly implies that the problems of other countries should fall second in line to the rest of the world’s problems. Yes, attention to local problems will place us in a better position to help another – and oftentimes it is the only way to effect visible change, i.e. grassroots, etc. However, there is no need to advertise an open disregard for a lack of interest/compassion for the problems of another person or country. It sounds as though you are full of compassion, as you seem to heartily stand behind the social and political problems faced by the U.S.

I guess what I’m really trying to say is that we may not all have the power to change the world, but to be globally compassionate is a step in the right direction.

After all, we all live in this world together; we are all human; we all feel hope, fear, love, loss, despair.

Yes, we are divided by geographies (land mass, water, etc.), but all those lines of nationality really are imaginary. We are all globally linked and connected. I’m not promoting a global government or anything radical like that, but rather that we eliminate this view of the “OTHER” and begin to be inclusive in our humanitarian efforts. If one chooses to focus more attention to local problems, there is nothing wrong with that. In fact, it is commendable as most people fail to believe in any form of social responsibility. But the truth is, the circumstances/changes in the larger world will have an impact, directly or indirectly, immediately or in the future, to our local livelihoods.

It seems to me that attacking the global issues, might just resolve any local problems in due course.

michelle, you lost me at the first sentence, but you sound hot anyway. 🙂

April 7, 2011 at 3:14 pm |

Don't Give A Fuck

It's survival of the fittest. Given the circumstances, everyone involved is doing what is best for themselves. Some people get the shit end of the stick. Crying about it and giving a lecture on the meaning of a word will not change the circumstances or the outcome in life that someone always loses. Grow the fuck up.

April 10, 2011 at 1:59 pm |

Katie

Spoken like a true American. So tell me, do you make sure you buy American? Do you shop only at your local Farmer's Market? Never at Wal-Mart or other chain stores with only imported products? Do you bike instead of drive? Do you donate regularly to your local food pantry? Help your neighbors with their heating bill? Volunteer at your soup kitchen?

I suspect you want whatever you want, you want it all, you want it now, and you want it cheap. (And you probably think you 'deserve it.') I suspect you think socialism is an evil word and you vote a GOP ticket.

Katie –
May I suggest that you stop smoking whatever it is, and realise that you can't second guess anyone?

No, I don't always shop at farmer's markets, et al., but I do my best to when I can afford to. I usually like to grow my own vegetables in the city on the corner lot that I have and freeze them for consumption during the 4 or 5 months that they will last. No, I do not bike instead of drive. Living in the city is tough enough. No, I don't donate regularly to my local food pantry, but I do invite perfect strangers to my home once or twice a month to eat with me. No, I don't help my neighbors with their heating bills because I can barely afford mine...but you know the funny thing? I DO take my pocket change once a year to a children's home and give it to them (after having saved all year – I have an antique milk jug for this purpose).

Your suspicion of what I want is so far off, I'm surprised you haven't fallen off the edge of the earth. I don't want anything more than what I have worked for, both hard and honestly. I don't expect anything cheap, because I know that's not reality in the business/consumer world. EVERYONE wants to make their little piece of the pie. I don't deserve anything more than the respect that I give to those who deserve it from me (unlike yourself, who seems to have a giant saguaro trunk in her backside).

You see, I was raised with a different set of values than most because I was partially raised by my grandparents (I'm now 39). They were children of the Depression, and my grand-father was a 22 1/2 year veteran who served in both WWII and Korea. I believe that it is up to the U.S. (notice the word US there?) to take care of her own BEFORE taking care of others. I don't disagree with helping each other out by any stretch, but I sure as hell don't agree with us helping everyone else out at the expense of our own people.

So, before you get your prissy little self dirty by slinging mud, perhaps you should sit back and think about what someone else might have learned through-out their own lifetime, and what they've seen with their own eyes. Come out of your shell Katie, and smell the (foreign-grown) coffee.

P.S. I choose not to vote, because I don't believe in voting for the lesser of two evils.

April 7, 2011 at 4:28 pm |

motormouth

I guess the point that I was making, that you missed by a long shot, is that our government needs to stop sending money to, and spending money on, other countries. It needs to put that money towards our school systems (have you done any research lately on how many of our schools aren't even meeting the national criteria for graduation, and wondered why so many of our kids are basically dumb?), towards our elderly care systems (face it – they suck at taking care of those who have taken care of them for so long), our vets (how many homeless vets do you hear about or see every week?), our homeless children (so many golf courses, so little land or money for shelters), our struggling farmers (government-based farmer protection sucks, too – take a look someday at how our federal and states governments treat farmers who are the ones who supply most of the food to our country), and the list goes on. THAT'S the point I was making.

April 7, 2011 at 4:45 pm |

fu9l

actually kate they are quite naive they dont even know that they have legal slaves in there own country a diplomat was reciently found to have slaves in his compound one ran away because she was getting mistreated ... nothing was or can be done because he is a diplomat hence it is legal in his country to have slaves this problem can only be resolved when it becomes illegal in all countries to have slaves or forced labor typing here about it wont change a thing legal action towards the countries that do this would ......

April 7, 2011 at 5:35 pm |

motormouth

@fu9l –

What does that have to do with what I said?

April 7, 2011 at 6:27 pm |

nicole

umm...i like how it made it seem appalling that this children work on family farms.....you know....just like north american children have for centuries....

How do you know they beat the kids? Because of something you've read? Or have you actually been there and witnessed the beatings for yourself? Political rhetoric and all that is a bunch of bull. Please stop being a sheep, and observe before you judge.

April 7, 2011 at 6:29 pm |

dicerotops

At the cost of sounding very un-PC, there is child labor in those countries for a reason. The children are trying to help bring food and necessities to their families. By NOT buying the chocolate, you'd actually be hurting these kids because then they won't have the work they need to survive. Yes, I'd love for all countries to treat their workers fairly. Realistically, that is not going to happen, and these children are doing what they need to do in order to survive.

Buying fair trade is not so much about boycotting the other companies (because we do realize that this can be a detriment in a way like you have pointed out). But when more people buy fair trade more often, it shows that there is a significant demand for it and that people do care where their chocolate comes from. These farms do not just pay unfair wages, they beat and threaten these kids all the time.

In your method of logic, Rosa Parks could have continued to sit in the back of the bus.... at least she had a ride.
It takes little steps, sometimes very hard ones, to make a difference and change things for the better.

Since I don't like chocolate, I don't usually buy it. But if it will help these poor foreign slave children, I'll start buying it, and i'll just throw it away after, okay? Because I'm just that kind of stellar human being.

This is said with respect because I don't know you personally. But from what you have said.... You are a fool.
I do not think you realize that Fair Trade companies can offer just as many jobs as the "child labor" that these kids probably beg for (as you say, but which is not true). If people would buy or simply tell companies they would still buy if it is fair trade, it would most definitely help the children and no it would not cause economic disaster here in the states.

But, it's nice to know that you are so selfish in your great American wealth that you cannot spend a dollar more on your precious chocolate to help a few kids.

These children who work on these farms are not simply paid low wages... They are beaten and threatened every day. Very young children. They do not beg for this work. It is the only option for many of them. But they do beg for a better life. Wouldn't you?

Maybe you should do your research (on cocoa farms, economics, and pretty much everything you said) before you make such bold comments.

And to everyone else complaining about these people procreating:
Are you going to pay for the birth control to give out to hundreds of thousands of people? Or would you rather spend a dollar more on the chocolate that is making you fat and unable to do half the work these children can?

This piece is not well-done. Fair trade is not about just the low wages. It's not just family farms. There are a lot of farms where the children and adults working are virtual slaves. They are beaten, etc. This piece only highlights one small aspect of fair trade....

Wouldnt it be nice if it were so simple. STOP BUYING BAD CHOCOLATE! What will these children do if they dont work for their families? What will they eat? Who will school them? The fact is the developing world dosnt have the resources or infrastructue to support these kids in food, health and schooling. They have to support themselves or their families. Otherwise the alternative is they will join a local gang or militia and go fight wars for REALLY BAD people. Or they will beg and become victimes of child pimps. Or they will be sold into slavery somewhere else in the world.

These children for the most part are not working on the family farm, they are bought or tricked into forced labor. IT IS NOT A JOB THEY ARE NOT GETTING PAID!!! So they are not helping themselves or their families. They are starved, beaten and forced to work 12-18 hours a day. See this link for more info about chocolate farm slaves...http://vision.ucsd.edu/~kbranson/stopchocolateslavery/goodchocolateproducts.html

For those that asked there is also a list on that website of about 40 fair trade chocolate companies including.

I'm now looking forward to the lurid exposes on each and every choco-shyster named here on this list...thank you! Or maybe they are not shysters, they are probably just being hoodwinked by someone further along the supply chain....either way, some kid is crying over something somewhere so you can have some chocolate. Accept it.

April 7, 2011 at 10:08 pm |

Dan

Wait a minute....that's not the real sarah palin!!! I bet that last guy wasn't the real wallet inspector!!!

Since when do Americans really care how their products come to be in their stores? Since when have they ever really cared? They just want stuff now and they want it cheap! They deserve it! They're Americans!

BTW – most chocolate also comes infected with the Brazillian storage dust mite. If you have allergies to dust, your chocolate may also affect you. Two 'safe' brands are Ghiradelli and the organic brand Green and Black. Almost all your average chocolate – candy bars, chocolate chips, cocoa – contains the dust mite. Want your chocolate now??

You call THIS an article!? How about a little more info? For instance, what are "fair trade" and "direct trade" chocolates? And I've got news for you: EVERYTHING is the product of someone else's hard labor...

Not sure why chocolate is singled out. From what I understand, cocoa harvest is not all that different from hundreds of other products. Don't put the blame on the product, put it on the countries that allow or ignore the problems.

And if you don't buy the chocolate, those children working on their FAMILY farms may starve.
Get real! They are not in a 21st century western economy.
100 years ago, most children in agricultural families worked on their family farms.

The problem with child labor laws is they take jobs away from the desperately poor that need them most. Sure, conditions in a sweatshop may be very bad, but thats a job that pays more than the alternatives. Its easy for us to sit back and say everyone should be in school, but if your city has no functioning economy, what kind of school can the government build? When you are worried where your next bite of food will come from, how can you study?

the dark side of diamonds the dark side of clothes the dark side of choc. the dark side of brick laying the dark side of gold the dark side of coal the dark side of just about everything in third world countries that allow this type of activity legally.....

Since when is a child working on his family's farm considered a "travesty"? If I had a farm, I'd certainly expect my child to help out and do his share of the chores. That IS farm life. This article is stupid.

You can certainly tell...who is shoving the chocolate in their face with "SILVER SPOONS". Anytime...child labor /slave labor is utilized in our products we should be concerned. They are children. As we continue our path to hopefully mesh into "ONE WORLD", one day, children anywhere , will cease to be used for cheap labor to "survive". Yes..this country, does not even take care of their own..protect the rich at the expense of the poor, elderly, sick. Does not negate a need to be concerned about child labor taking place anywhere on the planet. Evil..self concern.

Starting at 6 yrs old, I was expected to start working around the house/yard with my mother. I could wash clothes/dishes, bathe/feed my younger sisters, vacume/mop/sweep, do basic yard work. By the time I was 10, I was able to cook meals for myself/sisters, and was watching them on a daily basis. By then, I was doing all that and going to school every day. The work became more the older I got, and I was still expected to go to school, and get good grades. None of the other kids my age were doing that.

It didnt seem normal to me, but we didnt dare say no. We did what weretold to do and that was it. I understand theres a difference between abuse and chores, but I believe my mother was on the line, if not crossing it alot of the time. I worked from before sunup and long after the sun went down. I may have great work ethics b/c today. I feel for those children, as I wasnt much different from them. But the phrase 'child labor' was never mentioned in our house. Those kids will be ok. After all, I turned out ok

So if anyone reading this thinks that things like that only happen in 3rd world countries, I ask you not to be so naive, and think again. Any person who grew up on a farm knows exactly what Im talking about. I say we need to look around the USA 1st, and try to help/save our own children here. I know its sad that things like this happen all over the world to children. But I doubt itll ever stop. Lets clean up our own backyard 1st, then we can worry about saving the world. Coming from someone whos been there.

There are many ways to hold slaves. In the USA we use "black lists" to make sure anyone that does not work the 100 hour weeks will be sent to the "low income" areas of the country where they can look forward to watching their children beaten!

These kinds of documentaries help us to raise our consciousness about the far-away impacts of our own actions on others. We would never accept this kind of treatment if it were our own child farming cacao in our backyard. The only way we can accept this kind of mistreatment is if we view these people as "not us," not part of "our family." But when we expose ourselves to this knowledge, we cannot avoid realizing that in fact these ARE our children. When we are receptive to the knowledge and we allow it to really enter our consciousness, we cannot continue to support a system that creates suffering and injustice, wherever that suffering may be. We need to get past the artificial distinction between "our" children and "their" children, "our" backyard and "their" backyard. In a globally interconnected world like ours, the whole world is our backyard.

The great news, as many posters here have pointed out, is that there are options out there in the marketplace to satisfy our sweet tooth AND support just, sustainable cacao production systems. Products that are certified by Rainforest Alliance, Fair Trade, and similar systems must be sourced in accordance with very strict standards for sustainable and just production methods, including no child labor. It is easy to find these products in any supermarket. They are both higher quality than most chocolate out there, and your conscience can rest easy when you buy.

Someone asked the question about M&Ms/Mars in particular: That company has made a public commitment to source 100% of its cacao supply from certified sustainable farms by 2020, and is working with international agencies and non-profit sustainability training and certification organizations to get its entire supply chain sustainably certified by independent 3rd parties on this time frame. It is not an easy task when you think about the scale and the kinds of places where you need to do the field work (Ivory Coast, which is the world #1 producer of cacao).

Let us stay receptive and open to all of this information, and respectful of one anothers' views. Peace.

Yeah, everyone with a brain considers where something comes from before they bite into it. Sadly, everything has exploitation plastered all over it nowadays – the clothes we buy, the stores we buy those clothes from, and what we eat. Either exploitation, or poor quality control, that is. Talk about a bitter story.

What's wrong with children working? Children have worked through the entire human history save maybe half a century in the west. Ask yourselves what those children would be doing if not working. Starving? Joining Somali pirates?

I love chocolate and don't give a rat's ar$e where it comes from...sound familiar? I hate to sound callious, but the standards set forth in the U.S. don't add up to a hill of beans in these choco-republics.

I am eating chocolate as I write this comment. I don't know where Hershies get their chocolate from, but I am not going to stop eating chocolate because of this. I tend to like very dark chocolate and this is the chocolate that comes from child labor.

let me tell you exactly how i think it. I'lll never stop eating my dark chocolate, and frankly, I dont care where it came from. I love it, and never will stop eating it. What is this, some campaign to stop people buying chocolate??? why dont you do something against cigarettes or alcoholic drinks that really harm your health, instead of the best tasting, moodfixing diva in the market.

Willy Wonka said that he only buys conflict-free chocolate. He too was accused of trafficking Oompaloompas at his factory until it was discovered that they were there under their free will. Buy only Wonka bars and stop buying conflict-chocolate people!!!

Shut the hell up n quit crying. I'm so sick of people in this country trying to change other cultures into what they believe. Did it ever occur to u that's their way of life n they like it.bad enough here in our own country what started as doing u crybabies a favor n creating a smoking section has turned into as much as banning smoking outside or in ur own vehicle.u give these idiots an inch n they keep coming.shut the hell up n leave other people alone.quit trying to force ur beliefs on others.quit crying n grow up or leave our freedom of choice country.I for one will fight for that freedom and u people butting ur nose where it don't belong will b our 1st opponant.nuff said.

you are one of the dumbest people I have ever heard. MAYBE CHILD LABOR IS JUST THIER CULTURE. your picture should be under ignorance in the dictionary. and no thank you, I would not like your second-hand smoke... grow up or go back to preschoolm If your parents didnt teach you about whats good and bad they will

IIt's not OK to accept the status quo. We all have an obligation to work together to solve all the problems of mankind. Over population is usually cured by industrialization. See Japan US European birth rates. Jesus asked us to love thy neighbor. Children working on a family farm is should not be a crime unless its part of an abusive situation. Working for the family is not a crime.
Ethical and sustainable efforts
In 2000 Nestlé and other chocolate companies formed the World Cocoa Foundation. The WCF was set up specifically to deal with issues facing cocoa farmers (disease had wiped out much of the cocoa crop in Brazil) including ineffective farming techniques and poor environmental management. The WCF focuses on boosting farmer income, encouraging sustainable farming techniques and environmental and social programmes.[13]

Nestlé is a founding participant in the International Cocoa Initiative (ICI), an independent foundation set up in 2002 and dedicated to ending child and forced labour in cocoa growing, and eliminating child trafficking and abusive labour practices.[14]

In October 2009 Nestlé announced its Cocoa Plan. The company will invest CHF 110 million in the Plan over ten years to achieve a sustainable cocoa supply. On the 23rd October 2009 Nestlé and CNRA, the Ivorian National Centre for Plant Science Research, signed a frame agreement for cooperation in plant science and propagation, with a target of producing 1 million high-quality, disease-resistant cocoa plantlets a year by 2012. The aim is to replace old, less productive trees with healthier new ones.[15][16]

Nestlé is launching a Fair Trade branded Kit Kat in the UK and Ireland from January 2010.[17]

she made free lunch bus toy at each curb . i say she . she was comprised of 30,000 lunch pails and green beans and casseroles and other beans and such at each sick curb in forever . and 300 folk . 27 million local sick curbs that i counted . and boundless more in phone booth waves and shrubs and such

but she had a special sensitivity a tenderness . she said to her day, go forth upon my rump and you'll find there in all the filthy naked lusty kids and their free lunch for grandmom . you'll find a paradise . no free lunch . no naked lustyy slut . just good middle age wholesome appropriate sorts . riding ponies and slaves . in a realistic but virtual landscape . and ride your ponies and your slaves and your war baby whores daddy . and when i've the time, i'll stop in and suffer for your sins personal and diary my self my own rump in your own hell .

and he lept in and never came back out even once yet . well, maybe once or twice . or a few times . but only for a little while . well, not always for a little while . maybe sometimes a little while .

i was working in miami at the age of 12 stop writing some puss y sh it article.... now if they were being beaten and or something like that then it would be ok but cause these kids are working its bad? wake up smell the coffee everybody has to work no matter what.

I will continue to buy or not buy chocolate depending upon the price and how much I want it at any given time. How the producers provide it is their problem, as is the source of their labor force. I am neither a global fair labor practices representative nor a child labor law enforcer.

It is common pracrtice, even in the US for children to do work, (chores) on family run farms. Why is this a big deal now? That is how family farms have been run for generations. Only in the last 10 years has this become slave labor.

Horrors! Children working on their family farms! Western children in the past 100 years are the only children in history who don't have to work outside of royalty. I've got news for you, American farm children usually have to work too.

oh, yes... because government interference is always the solution to everything, right?

I have a better idea. Let's take care of our own problems right here and let other countries run themselves. I'll even make a suggestion for starting to take care of our own problems: prevent our government from continuously and unnecessarily interfering in every minute detail of our citizen's lives.

People don't have the time to research everything they eat. The government should have child labor laws by which they force companies to abide. If the company can't prove that their supply chain is clean then our government shuts them down.

oh, yes... because government interference is always the solution to everything, right?

I have a better idea. Let's take care of our own problems right here and let other countries run themselves. I'll even make a suggestion for starting to take care of our own problems: prevent our government from continuously and unnecessarily interfering in every minute detail of our citizen's lives.

Haven't seen the film so do not know what it purports to expose. However, based on the CNN story it sounds like there is nothing there to stop anyone from enjoying chocolate.

1) Not all children lead pampered American suburban childhoods.

2) The story says the majority of these children work on family farms... well in the process of bringing civilization to the North American continent children worked on the family farm here too.

In many cased Africa is much more primitive in their evolutionary path to modern civilized society. To project first world sensibilities on third world people is simply foolish. We should let Africa progress, along the evolutionary social path, at their own pace.

What is the difference here and in China where kids are yanked off the street and paid .05 a hour and forced to work 20 hours a day. Or what is tthe difference in the fact that the trade agreements and the subsequent outsourcing of jobs overseas has made "The Road to Serfdom" a reality for the majority of America?

I admit I have a chocolate addiction but i don't want my nasty little habit to be a monkey on some little kid's back. How do I know which chocolates are fair trade or direct trade chocolates? It isn't exactly stamped on the package. Should it be? Should I just assume the stuff that costs about five times as much is the sort I should be looking for or is there a list of non-compliant companies? Obviously from this film, Nestles has been casted as a bad guy. Who else should we steer clear from that refuses to at least do the bare minimum for these children?

Finally we get to see the real Obama in the Jungle where he came from, thanks for providing the picture CNN. Come clean Obama, show us the long form birth certificate, time to see who you really are.[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=61gGsDR_XFI&w=640&h=360]

MsCookietoyou, that was so funny! When we eat chocolate from now on I'll mentally thank all who made it possible! Child labor here in the U.S.A. is one thing, and children working in uncivilized countries are helping their families to eat.

My Grandfather owned a farm and I first started working on the farm when I was 8 years old before school after school and on weekends.
Oh and this is in the good old USA. And this is a normal part of working on a farm. None of my family members do drugs or are in jail. All of us finished school and pay our Taxes.
How about those kids at home playing Video games and eating them selves to death. None of use are over weight.
Wake up folks. Unless you understand the world go back and play with your video games.
You have no right to complain. If you want to pay some one $10 per hour to work in a farm. Then you need to do the math.

How much would you spend on food each month. Oh then again we would not have a problem with
weight in this country. ????? Now that is an Idea.

Don't let Obama read this post. He might just get an idea.

Sorry if I disturbed your video games and you had to read my cr@ppy post.

There are plenty of people around here that need a help. And until I know every US resident has been properly taken care of, what is going on in Ivory Coast, Kenya or Haiti is beyond scope of my interest.

Wow. For years American Children worked in agriculture on their family farms. What is exactly wrong with someone learning a trade in the family business. And what are their options.

The producer of the documentary did it to make money not make a point and most likely exaggerated. Here we are again trying to force our values onto other cultures. What should we be proud of? The fact that most of our youth sit around playing Nintendo, our teen obesity or that our schools can't turn our anyone with an education or a trade skill? Maybe we should focus at home first.

BTW – The GOP is Greed Over People post was obviously written by someone in an institution who has internet access or a plant.

So a child working in the family business is a slave? Gadzooks...had I not been a slave I'd never have become a numismatist, nor a commercial Orchid grower, nor something of an expert on American Indian jewelry. These are all things that I learned while working for my folks...no classes can teach what I know...it's all hands on learning. How else is a kid going to learn how to be productive at anything if not by actually WORKING?

If we invaded Iraq for suspicion of WMDs, what the heck is stopping us from invading Indonesia, Nigeria, Cameron, Brazil, Ecuador, the Ivory Coast and Ghana? Why the heck not? At least America would be more respected for invading under these pretenses as opposed to a paranoid delusion.

See? The Ivory Coast Chocolate crisis is growing! We need to inavade to maintain the free flow of Chocolate... for... uh ... Humanitarian reasons of course... but... Time to Reload the Tomahawk missiles!

What's the big fuss? I was delivering newspapers before school when I was 10, 11, 12 years old. Nobody was crying child abuse then. It was fine, I wanted to earn some money–has served me well in life. Kids in third world countries work–that's the reality. Better they're prepping the cocoa leaves than prepping to learn how to become a terrorist.

For me this boils down to two points. 1) What is the world like when it is over populated? are we there yet? Does everyone deserve a high paying job? Someone needs to clean the toilets. 2)Captain Kirk (Pike, Picard, Janeway, et all) had the prime directive. Is it because we are all alone on this planet that "American (Christian)" values need to be observed by everyone? does everyone deserve life my way?

Just asking. And don't be a simpleton. Think before you "speak." I am not saying I am right about anything. But I will say, I really have nope hope for this planet and what we call the human race.

I guess in this world the only people allowed to do any type of labor, farming, selling etc etc must be adults. In the U.S. just how many kids work on the "family farm" ? I agree that children should not be doing forced/sweatshop labor etc but again, who are we to critisize another countries laboring? Can't have your cake and eat it two America. Or maybe you can just without chocolate.

Just one more example of modern witch hunting under a seemingly innocent guise. Yes, we need to work as a global community to keep exploitation at bay, but to raise alarms like this over every bite of chocolate, every cup of coffee, every pair of sneakers, every yard of hand-embroidered fabric does nothing but create guilt where guilt is inappropriate. And it creates situations where folks are picked on by others who have read these articles, unnecessarily creating tension and bad feelings among otherwise congenial folks. We constantly pick on each other about weight, bad hair days, the occasional candy bar, zits and untied shoe laces. Please remember that overwhelmingly the products we purchase are produced by adults who need to eat too. Give it a break.

The reality is that when CNN can't even spell "Cameroon" correctly – that what happens in these countries will never be important to 90% of Westerners. Having lived in "Cameron" for 3 1/2 years the reality is that children work because their families need to eat. When and only when we look at a solution of economic justice that includes Westerners consuming less and African, blood-thirsty, money-hungry dictators being deposed – will this stop.

OK, really I really don't care what's going on in other countries anymore, and the USA should really stay out of it. Most countries aren't politically correct. I'm sick of it, and until the US starts dealing with and fixing our own problems, we need to stay the hell out of other peoples business.

Sadly, having lost the moral high ground over the past 60 years, not too many Western countries have the right to do any finger pointing with respect to either a fair trade chocolate or a direct trade chocolate.
The baffling irony is that so-called ' fair trade chocolate or a direct trade chocolate' are largely of inferior quality to top of the line grocery store distributed 'Swiss Chocolate'.
Why is that so?
I hope this documentary addresses this issue as the marketplace has shown a repeated aversion to 'Fair Trade/Inferior quality goods' time and again.
As a confirmed chocoholic, I support whatever quality my digestive system agrees with, since even though my head may firmly despise slavery, my stomach doesn't care.
Solve this dichotomy and the fair trade foods dilemma is solved with it.

Kids making chocolate...wonderful!! I think its great! If these countries are going to keep breeding kids they can not take care of that lets at least make them earn there keep. I have no sympathy. Just like these feeding kids commercials I see. How about we take that money and invest in birth control...What a waste of assets to feed a never ending stream of children who have more children they cant afford.

The United States is not the police of the world, nor does the U.S. make the laws for everyone else. I really dont care one way or the other what a sovereign foreign nation does inside their own borders. It is their own internal affairs and we should mind our own business and fix our own issues first before worrying about other nations. if you dont like it personally dont buy the product, end of story.

MIND YOUR OWN BUSINESS! WHAT, THE OIL INDUSTRY IS SO BAD CORP AMER NOW GOES INTO CHOCOLATE COUNTRIES? MIND YOUR OWN BUSINESS! WHO THE HELL SAID AMERICA IS THE WORLDS SAVIOR? IF YOU WOULD TAKE CARE OF YOUR OWN FAT, UNHEALTHY, DRUG ADDICTED, CHILd MOLESTING, LYING, GREEDY
ASS YOU MIGHT GET SOMETHING WORTH WHILE DONE IN LIFE.............mind your own business!!!!!!!

My friends and I worked on farms as kids, helped at home, delivered newspapers and all when I was an early teen. I had a full time job at age 16. I put myself through college and every degree since then. Child labor, I think not. They and their families would starve without the extra income, sadly a way of life for their region. I think this story was off base for if not every time we see a young teen selling a newspaper or helping out at the family farm to raise cattle or produce milk we should scream child abuse. Get real. How about wonder about the next glass of milk you drink. CNN...how about something else more important and factual.

The U.S. did have child factory workers at one time, that is until child labor laws were passed. There is now an attempt by some states to eliminate child labor laws pertaining to age and hours. Children will work for less than adults.

What is wrong with child labor a family farm? This happens all the time in the US and no one complains. I was working in tobacco in NC at age 6. It’s considered a “vanishing quaint way of life”. And what would the kids do if they did not work and contribute to feeding themselves, go to a school that they have to pay for (common in Africa where few schools are free) if one exists at all? And when they finish that school, where would they work, in the cocoa business? My deputy in my office is from Nepal. He likes to recount a clothing firm that offered its child workers a short day of work with meals provided and then a full day of school. Westerners refused to do business with them for using child labor, so they fired all the kids and they now beg in the streets all day (they have to eat) instead of going to school. And, they hope they will be able to get a job in the clothing factory when they are old enough. Western values should stay in the west.

ah, yes...a gathering of fools again. will just say this but am sure it will do no good. all of your opinions mean nothing except as a way for the advertisers to count how many people log on. sure you may not click on the ads, but that doesn't matter. advertisers pay a rate based on how many of you idiots 'might' click on their ads. don't believe me? do some research.

CHOCOLATE (COCOA) IS AN AMERICAN FRUIT, THE SPANIARDS DISCOVERED IT BECAUSE THE MAYANS AND AZTECS USED TO DRINK HOT CHOCOLATE. CHOCOLATE COMES FROM THE MAYAN WORD "XCOLICT"....SO STOP MAKING NEWS ABOUT AN AMERICAN PRODUCT WHICH HAS BEEN CULTIVATED IN THE AMERICAS FOR HUNDRED OF YEARS AND NOW SOME POOR AFRICAN COUNTRIES ARE TRYING TO EXPLODE IT.

Quickly son, quickly. Let's put together a Congressional committee to study the chocolate industry. They can probably force the choco manufacturers to sell only chocolate that has NOT been harvested by child labor. Each bar sold would be required to indicate that" the chocolate in this package has not been obtained by the manufacturer through the use of child labor" Then, we can all continue to eat chocolate guilt free. And, some of our illustrious political leaders occupied with this task will not, otherwise, be spending more money that we don't have.

Up until agriculture in the USA was fully mechanized, all rural children were up to the same thing. My family was picking cotton into the 60s. Children would start picking as soon as they could hold a cotton sack.

I don't think children working is exactly child labour...a lotmofninequity children work at a young age im the third world outmofmnecessity....but its not exactly slavery.....if thaspts your definition of slavery than anyone that isnpoor In this worldmis enslave. That's f insane.

Wait wait wait.... So the big deal about this article is that children are actually working on their own family farms? I may be cold-hearted, but isn't this exactly how it's been for many families in most countries for thousands of years up until the 20th century? I don't see anything wrong with a family farm growing a product and selling it for the price that the market demands. I agree that it's nice that in America many families can afford to not have their children work until their mid-twenties, but that isn't the case with every country and sometimes kids have to work at a young age to help their family (which, by the way is something that America experienced a few hundred years ago as well, and it wasn't wrong then for us).

If we, as consumers, were to stop supporting these farms, we wouldn't be helping the children, we would just be hurting them and their families and taking away from their profits.

You people are unbelivable! You're getting on your high horses and soap boxes about this when I bet that most of you have products made by Nike(who has been known to use child labor) in your closets and dresser drawers.Cut the self righteous crap and practice what you preach!

What/who are the "Fair Trade" organization members and what body of omnipotent advisors sets the rules for 'fair'? Who enforces and guarantees the product is produced 'fairly" and who pays for someone to review each facility all over the globe that is perceived to be 'unfair'? Seems a bit far-fetched that anything marked 'fair trade' can, in reality, be produced 'fairly'. On the suface, seems a bit of a scam... wonder how many kids work at 'fair trade' facilities.

Yes...for god's sake stop buying chocolate...maybe these poor children could do like our American counter-parts and sit in front of a telly...oh have an iPod dangling from their ears...and surely this disrupts their MySpace and Face-Book time. Not everyone coddles their children like we do so that we have 30 year old's sitting in their Mom and Dad's basements eating hot pockets, drinking Mountain Dew and playing World of Warcraft. These children are helping their families so that all of them can EAT...survive...during the Depression (in the country) kids used to help their families too...now they sit on their ass and say "Not my Problem". Yes...we have it all figured out. Let's tell the world how to live.

Having lived in two of the seven countries cited in the articles for most of my life, i can tell you that agricultural is definitely one of their big source of money. Yes children are involved. Yes, it is hard labor and many times if there are any injuries, you have to take care of yourself. On the other side, are there schools around the neighborhood? Do they have enough to eat if the children dont work? Is there anything else the children can do? Can we impose one's country political actions into another country without thinking of consequences? Are they really slaves? The author and the people who made the documentary should probably live in those countries for a bit longer than just the time for filming and expose to the way of life from different group of population before making such statement as "chocolate slavery"

It's a conflicting issue and the kids may be earning something for a living. Probably if they don't work it would be difficult for the to survive. Not sure to jump into comments like "Slavery" or Child labor or simply working for thier survival. Many time have I heard "To end modern slavery" and sound like a fairy tale to me. As long as there is the polarity of poor and rich, the powerful and the dominated, people and politics these issues would continue, not to say that I should happen. My empathy to those children who struggle to find a days meal and a place to live. It's a good show from Mr. Price and Mr. Romano but I doubt this would bring a change. Easy to criticize but difficult to understand, and it is insensitive to say "Modern slavery" whatever that means.

Everything we consume or buy is suspect – clothes, diamonds, gold, fruits, vegetables, plastics, car parts, gasoline, etc, etc, etc ... the only escape (really) is to grow it yourself or make it yourself ... not that it is right but it is just reality.

"Child labor could be involved at some point." So? Child labor could be involved in coffee. Child labor could be involved in bananas. Child labor could be involved in __________ (pick your product that comes from any contry near the equator). I don't understand the anti-chocolate stories that have been appearing lately. It's production is very similar to tens/hundreds of other agricultural products we import.

Ok, let's not act surprised. For over 5,000 years the human race as enjoyed everything from items of necessity, which includes innovative consumer goods, and extravagance. Blood, sweat, tears, and death are simply a part of the entire process. Life isn't fair and be fortunate and grateful that you might have more than the next person.

There is a possibility of some sort of illegal activities in the production, transportation, or retailing of any product I might choose to buy. It is neither my responsibility nor my inclination to discover what those activities might be, to say nothing of trying to stop them. People all over the world are paid to do that, get on their @sses.

most of these kids are doing something to help their families...i'm not sure what we expect primitives to do other than exist, survive and live each day with what they have, but slavery??? quite a stretch...

Slavery was invented in Africa about 4000 years ago according to recent studies. Feudal wars always resulted in the losers becoming slaves. Africans made a lot of money selling their slaves to Europeans when Europe was born! Does anyone think that slavery can be wiped out in Africa? It is still part of the culture.

Question: If I was to stop buying regular chocolate and only buy the "fair trade" chocolate.. does that mean that all of the children of Africa that would normally be toilng on a farm would suddenly get free education? Or would they be worse off since no one is buying their product?

I had a newspaper route when I was 13 and worked in fast food when I was 16. Great experiences. Child labor should be discouraged only if there are schools as an alternative. The reality in many third world countries is that there are neither schools, nor the resources to build them. So the choice for children is working, begging or sitting around. Under those circumstances, it's hard for me to see the evil in children working. Children in US worked on farms for years until schools became an option fairly recently.

It's amazing how far American politics will to try and deliver a skewered view of the world.

Children hunting and gathering in other countries isn't slavery. It's their culture. Many are proud to do it.
American children could learn something from it. We sit on our couches watching TV and think we
know how the world really works. As Americans, we know very little about how it works.

Don't you just hate it when someone tries to place their own values on a society with other ethos? So what! I worked on my grandfather's farm as a child and learned the ethics of hard work, honest labor and a common goal. Also went to school and became a very successful businessman. I thought the article was about slavery. It is just about hardworking families doing the best they can to survive in conditions you and I would not welcome, under any circumstances.

Is the goal to eliminate child labor at any cost? What do the children who work there want? Maybe they want this crappy job because it is a far better opportunity than anything else they have.

The only way to solve the problem is to raise the price of chocolate which could then support a higher standard of living for the workers and the elimination of child labor. But how much of an increase in $/ounce would this take? And how would this impact demand? At some point, say $100/ounce, very few people will buy it and then there will be no industry/jobs/wealth creation at all. In an undifferentiated commodity market, lowest price wins...

The problem is that no once is incented to stop it. Not the kids, not the individual chocalate farm operators, not the bigger corporations, not the exporting governments, and not the consumers.

Exactly how is a child working on a family farm considered slavery? I grew up on a farm. As soon as we could walk we had a hoe in our hands. Get real. Children have been working on farms around the world since the beginning. Thats how they learn how to farm and take it over when it is time.

I think articles as these are good because it evokes progressive thinking and remarks from both sides of the arena. I sifted through most of the the rebuttals and for the most part people have something semi-intelligent to say ...to say the least. Its the idiosities ( not a word but I like it) that we could do without but that's the static we expect from a free world message board, any body can voice an opinion and that's good. So given the conditions stated in a third world country ( if that's still politically correct) if the children are enslaved by others and forced to do labor without real compensation I would agree that they are in fact slaves and something should be done about it. If the are forced to do manual labor at a young age to help support a standard of living for their family than I do not, Remember our own past in building this country (USA) when sacrifice was your "daily bread" in order to keep your family intact. I have my own stories of my dad and his brother working to help feed the family during the Great Depression at ages 8 and 10, slavery?...maybe...maybe not...

Too little information provided yet again: funny how writers with agendas unsupported by evidence leave out the most crucial facts. i.e. Were these kids forced at gunpoint/or knifepoint to work in these fields? Also, what are their viable alternatives to working these fields? Is there a free k-12 education system in these countries to gain an ed.? Does Indonesia, Ghana, etc. have a robust social services safety net to provide financial/educational aid to these kids while they're NOT working the fields; i.e. pulling in an income? (yeah, probably not)
So, what's left for them once the Do-gooders stop buying chocolate from these regions in favor of a higher priced, "fair-trade" source? Hmmmm...? The company pulls out of that region, eliminating the only source of income and social uplift these kids have. You all assume they have the alternatives to work that we Americans do, i.e. education/parental support, but you're wrong. IF given a choice, (big "if" I know) people tend to chose the option which benefits them the most in their given situation. Don't go assuming you're helping them by placing embargoes on the one source of income they presently have.
If you want to really help them, you provide give them a financial education, show them how to save, invest and re-invest in themselves and business. But they'll never get that far if you cut-off the only financial support you give them now by buying their chocolate.

I worked on our family farm until I left high school. I don't ever remember not working on the farm and I mean real hard work. I am a contributing tax payer worth a great work ethic. It didn't hurt me and no one cried about it. So are you going to do a documentary of the dark side of Idaho potatoes next? By the way who did you hire to cart your stuff while on the shoot and did they stay in your hotel and get paid your union scale?

I doubt you worked 12 hours a day, to get paid a few pennies. I doubt you did this daily, from the age of 7 until the rest of you life. cause when you're working 12 hour days, you don't get to go to school. you don't get to acquire skills to get a better paying job as a child. you don't break the cycle of poverty.

this director is known for his child labor advocacy all over the world. he has another film called Stolen Childhoods.. The film features stories of child laborers around the world, told in their own words. Children are shown working in dumps, quarries, brick kilns. One boy has been pressed into forced labor on a fishing platform in the Sea of Sumatra, a fifteen-year-old runaway describes being forced into prostitution on the streets of Mexico City, while a nine-year-old girl picks coffee in Kenya to help her family survive.

I grew up in a family farm. I never got a single cent for my efforts. What I got was a roof over my head and a belly full of food and lots of on the job training. People all over the world do what they have to do to survive. American need to get over their haughty ways and understand that we cannot fix everything to meet the twisted expectations of the leftist do-gooders. These farmers have something to sell, the market price is set by the highest bidder for their product. If we stop buying their goods then the price drops, they get nothing and starve. Then what do we do? Give them government subsidies not to grow chocolate? Give me a break, Yes there is bad sh!t that happens in this world. If fix one problem, we skew the outcome of another. it is better to let the people directly affected to decide what is best for them. Like they have a choice to live on a farm eeking out a meager living, or move to the city and die in the slums do to no option for employment.

April 10, 2011 at 11:27 pm |

Michael K

I can't beleive there are people on here who actually think this isn't a problem. Slave labor produces coca cola, half our clothes, shoes, toys, appliances, househld items, and now our food? by accepting this as just a neccessity or something that can't be solved you're no better than a slave owner, because you're financing then and don't care.

South American chocolates are superior in every way to the low grade Ivory Coast stuff. They're also relatively guilt-free as they generally aren't harvested by child slaves. They're pretty much the only ones I buy now. Single origin 80-85% Ecuadorians and Venezuelans, mostly.

Yup! And my diamonds. And my knock off designer bags. And my real pocketbooks for that matter. And those nice bidi cigarettes they used to import. Oh heck, face it...all the good stuff comes from somewhere bad.

April 10, 2011 at 8:47 pm |

Oh my

Kat...I want that!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! LOL..Please please pu-leeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeze make it available to us. I forgot to screenshot it!

i ask only this....if you were able to force all the kids to stop working these coca farms...what would be their alternative....most countries have the luxury where children do not have to work....but wish as you might...not all cultures or societies are the same....many of these children live in circumstances where they have to work to survive....if you're going to try to help people out....make sure what you're doing wont leave those you "help" worse off....if the kids werent working on a farm they would be working somewhere else...and i can think of dozens of place much worse for a kid to work than on a farm

there is a logical fallacy when a person criticizes an aspect of a foreign culture based upon the observers own cultural ethics...especially when it's completely out of context

A 9-year-old girl trafficked from a catchment area in neighboring state pulls excess clay from a brick form. The discoloration in her hair is due to vitamin deficiency from a poor diet and long hours of exhausting work in 100 degree temperatures. The bricks behind her represent a day's work. Thousands of brick kilns line the riverbanks in Bengal and the surrounding states of India.

is this how your childhood was? you heartless people.

and for those commenting that americans are all fat and lazy and sit in front of the tv, and think this is a better solution....maybe you should teach your children to not lazy and sit in front of a tv all day. or just keep feeding them the idea that this world is theirs. let's keep teaching entitlement. that has worked out well.

The International Labour Organization estimates between 56 and 72 million African children work in agriculture, many in their own family farms.

Umm... so?

I don't get how this is a problem, if it is their own family farms. I personally grew up and worked on my own family's farm starting at about age 8 doing whatever I could do to help out. I grew up with a great work ethic and sense of personal responsibility and am now a successful albeit hard working physician. My brothers, and in fact every former child of a farming family are all similarly hard working and would never dream of collecting welfare or otherwise leeching off the rest of society.

I'm sure there is some other point that this poorly written article totally missed, like educational neglect or some other problem. And perhaps to the city slicker who wrote the article a child having to actually work on the family farm seems horrifying, but it is truly a great way to grow up with very solid values. Show me anyone who grew up on a farm and almost without exception I will hire them immediately because I know they understand the value of teamwork and getting the job done. The vast majority of suburban or city employees I have had are lazy and will do more to avoid work than if they had actually just done the work asked of them in the first place. I suspect that's from growing up where taking out the garbage or cleaning their room is the only "work" they ever had to do.

people gotta work to eat. that's the way it is all over the world. even in the future if they invent some machine to feed, clothe, and shelter us, people still have to be hired to work on that machine to make sure it runs like it should. people have to work period. too many lazy slobs in america think they're entitled to sit on their ass, flap their big fat yapper all day, and yet not labor for their meals. douchebags.

Child Labor is honorable when the child and his/her labor is honored. When the child is exploited, we have a problem. If the only child labor law is the outlawing of child labor then children are set up for exploitation. Many children like to work and will work regardless of the banning of child labor. My son worked as a professional actor and as a singer in an opera company. He had duties to perform at a certain time and certain place. He had to prepare for work and he had to collect his pay and deposit it in the bank. It was good for him.

First i am indonesia and came from cocoa farm. For what i know, almost al cocoa farm in Indonesia is family private farm. So in doing their life, they use al family to help them. Just like american farmers ask their child to help them.

it not slavery or child rights abuse. The child was not pay because it is their life too. Mostly farmer didn't learn school. Their only life by farming.
So there is no child worker in Indonesia cocoa farm because it is not a company farm.

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Many ppl in this country don't know the dark side of chocolate or that of any of the products they consume. Most ppl have never gone to other countries and seen poverty first hand. However as our economy steadily goes down the drain we won't have to go very far to see children, our own children suffering.

A 360 degree change is far from our reach, but it doesn't mean we should not try. Everyone from every country would benefit from this change. Profit- hungry business need to bring back companies to the state that will insure jobs and products done lawfully (meaning no employee abuse). The people from other countries could cont. working under appropriate laws that we would demand for our selves. And sustain their own countries by going back to their natural skill (further cultivating their land, textile, etc.)

I see a lot of complaining, your guys just want you chocolate. We're a spoiled country and want things at our fingertips and we want them cheap. We need to be conscious consumers.

Their is nothing wrong with working and teaching your children workmanship, after all it's always good to know. All children regardless of any differences should be entitled to the rights we have for our children. And our children should know the truth about how things are being operated and they need to be taught to be conscious ppl as well.

Remember it isn't only kids that are being exploited, their parents, their land is being exploited as well. Look at the picture as a whole and see that you are in it! (if all you care about is yourself, then you really must look). The rabbit hole runs deep and you may not see the effects that it has DIRECTLY on you, because after all they make sure all you see is the beautiful chocolate in you hand.

In the end you are also slaves... slaves to fast and cheap lifestyle. Your selling yourself, you soul, earth, health and that of your own children but the funny thing is that you're also paying them. You can't be a prostitute and a pimp!

How I made my chocolate at home. . . very easy . . . early morning, I goto the cacao tree in the yeard with a long stick with sharp hook. . . I will hook the cacao fruit and violaaa! Then I slice the cacao fruit into half. . . I will sit in front of the basin with the kids and suck the cacao beans juce and spit the beans in the basin . . , I will put the basin in the midst of the sun to let the beans dry . . at the end of the week I will go to the grinding shop to ground the dried beans . . . hehehehe! . . . love it homemade. .:)

So I was right. Not only was LR trying to clean up her image for that show she was hosting, but she was also gearing up for yet another interview. Tammy showed up because LR was indeed trying to fix her image problems by blaming BG.

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Well look at it like this since many countries including Untied State basically steal from Africa, their will be no more Chocolate in 5 yrs, how i know i seen it on the news not CNN, i can't remember what new all i remember is hearing them say there will most likely be no more Chocolate in Africa too sent too American or any other country, I have never been a Chocolate lover any way but happy too see it well come too a end.

The core of your writing while appearing reasonable at first, did not really sit well with me personally after some time. Somewhere within the sentences you actually were able to make me a believer unfortunately only for a while. I still have got a problem with your leaps in logic and you would do well to help fill in those gaps. When you can accomplish that, I could surely end up being amazed.

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